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Reader Reviews | |
Review by Connie (310506) Rating (9/10) Review
by Connie So Mars does, for 31 Sundays, the equivalent of a month, visiting Christian, Sort-of-Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Unitarian, and non-sectarian places of worship. Each visit triggers thoughts, feelings and remembrances of Shirley, their siblings and parents; and Shirley¹s children. Using simple, direct language, Mars interweaves her family¹s relationships, Shirley¹s advance toward death, and her own spiritual search for something she can call God, into a microcosm of human experience. A visit to the Church of the Latter Day Saints evokes this thought: “My father taught me, expected me, to be tough, to follow my own strong will, and not apologize for it. I did. But secretly, I locked myself in the closet and cried so hard I could not breathe. Waves of sadness washed over me, washing me away, and I was enormously bereft, lonely, scared of everything. That was when Shirley would whisper through the door that she wanted to come in. I would crawl into her lap and drink in her silence.” Describing this intimate moment, Mars states a universal truth. Independence can terrify. Everyone needs a safe person and a safe place. Everyone faces the moment when they must lose that security. The combination of universal and personal experience in this and many other paragraphs in the book makes A Month of Sundays: Searching for the Spirit and My Sister a compelling, tender, and moving read. So do Mars’ frank descriptions of caring for a dying person, right to the moment Shirley becomes so weak, she needs diapers, just before her ‘Final Dive,’ as Mars calls it, into delirium and coma. Mars’ spiritual search and its climax, add a final touch on the last page of the story.
A Month of Sundays is a thoughtful and moving book for
anyone, but especially for those facing illness, death, loss,
spiritual crisis, and grief. The story is not for the airport
or the beach, but for a time to sit down, and think, about life. |
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