R.E.A.D. Book Group

I love these people!! Sixteen years ago my boss at the library asked me to organize a book group for the older people in the community. That is how I came to organize R.E.A.D. (Reading Entertainment and Discussion). Every month I have 20 to 25 people come and many of them have been with me for the entire 16 years. When we started everyone decided that they didn't want to read the books and discuss them. Instead they wanted a more traditional experience where I would review books for them each month. I would do about six months a year and then I would have some dear friends help me out with the other months. (I didn't want them to get sick of me.) As the years have gone by, some of the book group members themselves have been willing to review books for me. I have especially loved that.

This is Howard, one of my dearest friends. I tell people he's pretty much perfect but he's not too thrilled about having to live up to that standard. He is a kind and gentle man. He worked over all the grounds at BYU for years and he has a great knowledge of plants, trees, flowers and everything in nature. A few years ago I asked him if he would consider reviewing a book each year. He was unsure at first but he did it. The first book he reviewed was A River Runs Through It and I have never heard a more beautiful review! Since then he has reviewed Tasha Tudor books, Tuesdays With Morrie, A Train to Potevka, and many more. I have told people about him and he has branched out and reviewed in other places. He also gives great horticulture presentations.

This is Howard with his sweetheart, Dixie. They have quite a love story. They are so cute together. They come every month and hold hands. I just love them so much.

Howard reviewed The Longest Walk for us this month. He did a beautiful job. He's now giving some thought to what he will review for me next year. You will notice in the top picture that Howard has a handkerchief at his feet. That is because he gives very thoughtful and emotion filled reviews. It is common for him to shed tears. So touching.

This is Jane. How I love Jane! I have known her my whole life. She is a great example and sometimes mentor for me. She does everything beautifully. She owns the Bungalow here in Pleasant Grove and is quite a business woman. I am amazed that she finds time every year to come to this book group. She was my first guest reviewer and she reviewed Women Who Run With the Wolves. Sometimes she enjoys dressing up like a fairy and having tea parties with her granddaughters. She travels to France and then comes home and tells me about it. She has been one of my greatest supporters, not just with the book group but with other endeavors. She has always complimented me on my mothering and my writing. I appreciate her so much.

This is Walden and Gwen. They are two of the best people I have ever met. I am so glad to know them and count them among my dearest friends. They have been married for over 60 years. They raised their eight children on a farm in Idaho Falls and then they moved here to Pleasant Grove. They have traveled to the Holy Land and many other interesting places in recent years. Walden keeps us laughing with his quips and antidotes. For example - "The only two books that have ever done me any good is my mother's cookbook and my dad's checkbook."

I look so forward to seeing these two. I'm glad they come in the library often. Their oldest daughter is Parker's kindergarten teacher.

This is sweet Marie. She moved to Pleasant Grove from San Fransisco a few years ago. She has been coming to the book group ever since. She also comes to my BookEnders book group at the library where everyone reads the book and participates in the discussions. Every time she decides to buy a book for anyone she comes to the library and asks for my suggestions. I just enjoy her so much. I learn alot from her in our book discussions.

This is Sandra (Sondie). She has lived in Pleasant Grove all of her life and has never married. I love her too. She volunteers at the rest homes in the area and she gives so much of herself to the people who live there. She will sometimes surprise me after book group and go buy lunch for everyone who is working at the library that day. She is a very talented poet and she is so funny. She has me laughing all the time. I'm so glad to count her among my friends.

Virginia, in the middle, is totally deaf but she still comes to the book reviews. She likes our company. She wants to do something worthwhile with her time. She is such a cute lady. She comes and reads the lips of the reviewer.

This is Afton. She started coming to book group many years ago but then her husband got sick and she had to stay home and care for him. When he passed away she started to join us again. I love her sweet spirit and I really miss her when she is not there.

This is Ivy, in the middle. This month she brought her mother and her husband. Her mother often joins us but this was the first time for her husband. I think he will be back. Ivy has also been with me for the entire 16 years. She is so kind. I just love visiting with her.

R.E.A.D. Book Group has been a highlight in my life. I have met some of the best people I know in this group. I'm am constantly uplifted by their examples and through their friendship. The hardest part has been when some of them have passed away. I miss them so much. I would like to mention three of those.

Bea - my stake partriarch's wife and my grandpa's cousin. She died this last Christmas and I have missed her terribly. She was one of the cutest ladies I have ever met. I knew her my whole life. Every time I gave a review or a presentation she would make her famous homemade fudge and bring me some. I miss that too. No one makes fudge like Bea.

Aunt Afton - I met Afton when I was in elementary school. My parents were divorced and I was a little lost. She was the school librarian and she invited me to come into the library and help her put away books and whatever else she needed. Many people thought she was a ornery old lady but not me. I loved her. When my mom remarried she married Afton's nephew so she became family. It was so fun to have her come to my book reviews every month for years until she died of heart disease. I miss her too.

Edith - My words will not do justice to how I feel about Edith. She would come to book group every month dressed in the cutest sweat suits because she was coming from aerobics class. She was in her eighties. She also lovingly cared for her invalid husband for years in her home even though many told her she should admit him to a facility and make it easier on herself. She was one of the most amazing people I have every met. One of her daughters had tragically died of asthma years before I met her. She said that I reminded her of that daughter. We became very close. I asked her to review for me and she did it willingly and beautifully. Sometimes she would stop by my house and bring me a loaf of bread right out of the oven. She made a quilt for Parker when he was a baby. When she was preparing her last book review on a book called Jim the Boy she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. During that time I worked with her on the review and we had high hopes of her being able to do it. She died just a couple of weeks before she was to give it and I thought my heart would break. I gave it for her and found it very difficult to get through it. Oh, how I miss Edith.

When Edith realized that she was going to die she wrote this beautiful letter to her loved ones. I was so blessed to be one of those who received it.

Dear loved ones:

I hope by now that some of the initial shock of my departure has begun to wear away... and that the kind carpet of pleasant memories has started to unroll.

I only ask one thing: No sad tears for me please. Every wonderful, delightful thrill, experiences and emotion life has to offer has been mine. So, no sad tears for me, please.

Rather, recall me with a fond smile as the wife, mother, grandmother, and friend who shared your laughter, tears and dreams through the years....

I lived a goodly span of years -- and enjoyed them all. I've laughed a lot, cried a little - I've seen a thousand sunsets and a few fresh dawns, walked in April rain, and watched an ocean roll.

I loved a man and was loved in return. . . I've cradled daughters in my arms. . . and walked with the hand of a son in my own. . . and my grandchildren gladden my heart.

Life was good - I saw robins in the spring - watched a shooting star and the snows of winter, walked under a harvest moon, and stood on top of a high hill and watched the flickering lights of a town.

Think of the happy times: The Christmas mornings. . . the grandchildren. . . the weddings. . . most of all, remember the hundreds of times we were together as a family.

On Christmas Eve, if there is a small star in the sky, look to it with love and let it come into your heart. . . and remember me. For no one dies as long as one person remembers.

You might be standing on a mountain top, looking across the sweep of a great plain. . . and if there is a sudden, gentle stirring among the trees. . . feel I am sharing the moment with you.

A mom never really dies while there are those on earth who love her. . . A mom is never gone as long as there are those who remember her with fondness and as long as her memory evokes a wistful smile.