March Book Report: Of Life

I knew what I was getting myself into. I didn't cry until the very end.

I was in Paul's car one day. I found myself listening to an interview with the author of Tuck Everlasting. I had managed to make it through the entirety of my secondary and undergrad careers without even so much as a glance at the spine of this book. It was on my radar, of course but I had never touched it, or even thought to pick it up.

After the heavy drudgery-come-sob-fest of For Whom The Bell Tolls, I wanted to wait to read Tuck Everlasting. The author and interviewer discussed the subject matter, and I knew I couldn't bear for it to be my February read. I downloaded it to my Kindle for safe keeping, and told myself I'd read it later.

We made a trip to North Carolina to visit family the last weekend of February, and since I knew I couldn't possibly knit the entire drive, I resolved to begin reading Tuck... on our journey.

I haven't devoured a book like this in ages. In recent history, I've become much more of a piecemeal reader. I don't typically have time to devote to marathon reading sessions, but I'm grateful Tuck Everlasting found a captive audience in me that day. Its short length made for easy work, and it kept me hanging on until the last page.

I don't want to give away too much. But ask yourself, if you found a true fountain of life, would you drink from it? Would you want to be the only one caught in this in between world where you don't fully live, but also never die? It would remain your secret, because you realize the gravity of what you discovered? What if you drank from this spring unknowingly and thought you only drank normal water, only to find out later you were invincible? What if you thought you could love someone, only to find out the eternity you offered was too heavy a weight to bear?

If you haven't read Tuck Everlasting, do. My only complaint is that it left me hungry for more, when there was no more left to offer. Maybe that is like life, though, in that we are always hungry for more. More fullness of life, more life to share. Believe me, it is young material... that much is apparent. But its lessons apply to anyone who walks this earth.