Thoughts from over the middle of the Atlantic…..

This post has absolutely nothing to do with diabetes and that’s ok….proves I can, in fact think about something else.

Have you ever loved a book so much you just had to tell everyone? I’m reading that kind of book right now, just about halfway finished.

I grew up in south Florida and for as far back as I can remember I knew about Ernest Hemingway. I think everyone did, during that time frame anyway. I remember reading one of his books in the seventh grade, not because of the subject matter, but because of him. Like most people’s opinion of him, to me he was larger than life. As a seventh grader, I thought he had seen everything ,as well traveled as he was. The grand trips to Africa, living in Cuba, sitting in a bar all day, all seemed very exotic. And so, I grew up enamored of this giant. Maybe outside the state of Florida people didn’t hear as much about him, I don’t know.

Fast forward to a few months ago….. I was in one of the warehouse club stores in the book section and I came across an interesting looking book. Just glancing at it, the story seemed about Madrid, which I’ve been trying to find a reason to like since I’ve been going there so much lately. So, I bought it. It turns out this book is second in what I hope is a continuing series. The book is titled “Love and Ruin” by Paula McLain and is a fictional account of Hemmingway’s second wife , Martha Gellhorn’s life. I adore this book. It’s been awhile since I’ve read a book where I felt I really was inside the character’s head. I want to savor every word, but I also want to hurry to what comes next. I want this book to last forever, but I want to read the other book too. To hear such intimate details of their lives (realizing it is a fictional account) just fascinates me. And, she describes him just as I imagined him all those years ago. I almost feel as if I’ve met him.

I hope everyone has a book that makes history come alive for them the way this book has done for me and if you get the chance to read it, I hope you will enjoy it as I have.