odd isn’t it how the timing has to be right?

Found your blog via your comment on David Seah’s blog. Thought it was a great question to ask!

My “right book at the right time” was the novel “Open House” by Elizabeth Berg. I was going through a sudden divorce and trying to stay sane by not stopping, moving forward all the time and not giving myself time to deal with any emotion.

Funnily enough “Open House” is about a woman also called Samantha going through a sudden divorce. It follows her through all the emotional upheaval and the steps she takes to rebuild her life. It was exactly what I needed.

Of the many things I took away from the book, the two biggest were:

- It’s okay to get angry about it.
– I, and only I, am in charge of my future.

Two very different lessons but at the time they were perfectly right for me.

Despite the heavy subject matter, the book is fairly lightly written. If not for the timing I don’t think it would have come across as powerfully. My own life was mirroring so much of the other Sam’s that every line seemed charged.

I have a giggle sometimes that of all the expensive self-help books I read, it was a cheap paperback novel that pulled me through that rough time ;-)

Sammie