I finished this book on April 21 2014, a memorable day, Easter Monday in fact. Why so memorable? Because of Catherine's writing is such a page turner and I completed this nearly 500 page book in four days. Memorable? Because it is such a reflective book.
The story is a Nathan who finds a baby in the woods when he
is on a duck hunting early morning expedition with his beloved dog Sadie.
The book is like a mentoring book of life. Questions to ponder and reflective.
Silence is a huge part of this novel. Though the silence is palpable and speaks
louder than a thousand words. The
silences are like the possibilities of a lifetime flashing in front of
your immediate future with future
consequences. Reflective, reflecting,
reflection.
I found this book to be emotional in that it speaks in
various aged voices: a young persons , a middle age and also an older
voice. The language, the thinking, the
pauses and the relationships between each of the characters speak more than
location, action or telling a story. Catherine's
story melds a philosophical question
about life's purpose. What would you do
in these circumstances? Not only finding
the baby, but in many situations throughout her novel.
I also found this emotional personally as each chapter is
dated. To open on my birthday when I was
one year old was very scary. That child
could have been me! I doubt and am
grateful it was not me. But that was the
impact of just the chapter one title.
Other significant dates in the book are February 20th 1990
when my mother turned 64. She had sung
The Beatle's tune "When I'm 64" many times as a child. What has this got to do with the novel you
may ask? It reminds us of our significant
times in our lives, for example where
were you the day JFK got shot? Or Princess Diana's death? Or 9/11? Not these public dates but the very personal
dates which I have ingrained into my brain.
I also found this book so emotional as it confronts dreams,
ambition, honour, truth, mortality and other themes. It is also not as didactic as "Tuesdays
with Morrie" by Mitch Albom (which I loved).
Catherine's style is gentler and less obvious in its message making
journey. It bears similar relationship
to the "Tuesdays with Morrie" in that there is a relationship with an
older person and what eventuates. Like
the silences, there are so many unanswered questions. I adored this as we do not always get
reactions, answers or reasons in life.
The brave voice of young Nat echoes so loudly in my head as
he learns to articulate himself. The
last few chapters and the lost opportunities of obtaining answers are
haunting. I had tears streaming down my
face knowing what it is like to sit with someone dying who had cared for me and
was not a relation. The succinct and
very carefully chosen sentences in some of the final chapters spoke
volumes. There was so much space in the
words written. Space to allow us to
reflect.
There were too many similarities in young Nat and his
ambitions to be a boxer and my personal ambitions in being an actor. The journey is more important than the
destination: learning from mistakes and learning to help yourself. Also to relearn to be yourself and to be true to yourself and
helping others to reignite that spark of
inner peace and happiness was so powerful.
Maybe these are not the themes of the book. But boy they screamed at me like "Jimmy
Cricket's" song "Give a little whistle" that my mother sang to
me when I was troubled. This book was
like my mother re-teaching my childhood lessons to prepare with my own fears
and insecurities. It was like an
enormous maternal bear hug of love.
I adored "When I Found You" and could not see how
Catherine could surpass "Chasing Windmills" that I had read in the two
days prior. Being a musical theatre fan
the parallels to "Romeo and Juliet" and "West Side Story"
were easily identified. More importantly
it told a terrific story.
Like "When I Found You" Catherine Ryan Hyde has an
amazing facility to speak to many people in many voices. Not speak:
Sing out loud and proud. Her words ring in my ears to a point that I
have to sleep overnight to really savour the journey. I do not want her books to end. The best part is that I know there will be
another.
Thank you.
Much love
