With tears in my eyes ...

I just finished an incredible book.


The Middle Place, by Kelly Corrigan. The book itself was the story of Kelly's battle with breast cancer and the parallel story of her father's battle with bladder cancer. The family life of a woman who is caught between being a mother and a daughter, a place I know so well in my own life.

And I am crying because at the end of the book, past the epilogue, Kelly shares an essay with her readers that, without welling up too much, is one of the most beautiful essays I have ever read in my entire life. She talks about being who she is, and the women in her life, and the way we, as women, go through stages of friendship.

We have history together, knew each other when we were kids, stood by as we lost family members ... grandparents, cousins, long-lost relatives. We journey through life together, move along through other relationships, friends, boyfriends, lovers, exes, enemies ... we move out of our homes, find our own place in life, meet the man we're going to marry! Time goes by, we become moms, ourselves. Recognize what our own mothers may have experienced all those years ago. Support one another through postpartum depression, healing, loss, anger, anxiety, things we'd never have imagined in our futures so many years in the past.

We lose touch, move away, battle things out. And then there is the illness, the parent, the aunt, the relative. A pain that nobody but your friend can understand. We reconnect. Find a way to hold on a bit tighter this time. Things may never be the same, or they will be ... someday.

Kelly Corrigan shares these kinds of sentiments and so much more. I wish she was my next door neighbor and friend. I hope she has the continued support and love she needs from family and friends, and that they all stay strong, as Corrigans do.

If you're looking for a heart-warming true story, I definitely recommend this one. I'm only sorry I waited so long to actually pick it up and read it, but perhaps there were parts of my own journey I needed to experience before I could truly feel her story. And so, now I have and I can honestly say it's one of my favorite reads of 2009. And for that, I thank her!

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