can't do it alone.

I got to speak at Girls' Camp last week, and it was AWESOME. And fun and terrifying and exhausting and good times.

The talk is a little long buuuuut probably not awful? I thought it was alright. Sooo you can read it if you'd like.

Who are we? We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him. We aren’t Nephites. We aren’t members of handcart companies. A lot of us will live long lives without crippling physical afflictions, without major catastrophes. Sometimes our lives don’t seem so obviously challenging, but that doesn’t mean that life isn’t hard. It is! Every day, we are faced with a variety of challenges. Illness; choices made by others; consequences of our own choices; the influence of the adversary. Even good things can be hard—choosing between those things that are good, better or best; school; dating; missionary experiences; making the decision each day to be a disciple of Christ. These things aren’t easy! President Eyring said, “If you are on the right path, it will always be uphill. The Lord is anxious to lead us to the safety of higher ground.” These life experiences are given to us to help us grow, even if it hurts. Something I’m still learning is how to not make these things harder for myself! I often find myself overthinking, worrying too much, or letting my fears get in the way of my faith. However, our Heavenly Father loves us. Because He loves us, He has given us the tools we need to overcome the challenges we’re given. These divine tools can help to build our challenges into life-shaping experiences. Heavenly Father is anxiously waiting to help us, but we need to invite Him into our lives. Albus Dumbledore once said, “Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.” Regrettably, we aren’t at Hogwarts, but the same principle still applies. Help will always be given to those who ask for it. I’d like to talk today about a few of the tools that I have learned to use in my life; tools that are available to everyone to help us through our challenges.

1. Priesthood blessings—our very own instruction manual

Our Father in Heaven loves us so much that He has provided a way to communicate to us directly and personally. We can receive counsel, direction, comfort and revelation from our Father through a priesthood holder. How incredible is that? It took me a few years and a few challenges to figure out just how powerful and how sweet these blessings can be.

Story time: When I was 13, I broke my foot. It was General Conference weekend in October, and just before the closing song of the Saturday afternoon session, I grabbed a scooter and headed over to Blankinship’s house to play with Emily. She had run back into her house to get something, and as I was riding around outside, I fell and shattered a few bones in my foot. Truth be told, I learned quite a few lessons that day: one should wear real shoes when riding a scooter, not just flip flops; and don’t ditch out of General Conference early to go play with friends. (My brother Nick would probably also add “don’t take your little brother’s scooter without asking…”)

The next couple of months were pretty miserable. I was on crutches for six weeks, I couldn’t carry my own backpack around school, and I couldn’t easily go hang out with friends. I was often sick, I recall getting checked out of school a bit and spending a lot of time in bed. I felt lonely and pretty down. Several times, my dad, in his wisdom, offered me a priesthood blessing. Maybe he didn’t ask all that much, but the way I remember it now, eight years later, I could swear he asked if he could give me a blessing every single day until, a couple of weeks after the incident, I finally told him to stop asking. Why would I need a priesthood blessing? It was just a broken foot, it would heal. I’d probably had a back-to-school father’s blessing a few weeks earlier; certainly I wouldn’t need another one. I was a 13-year-old girl who was positive she could handle it all on her own. Looking back now, it’s pretty clear that I could’ve used a little divine help during that time.

Fast forward five years, to the weekend of October General Conference. I had graduated from high school about four months before and had just started college at Weber, which was my third choice of schools, the backup I had never really planned on. However, I was insistent that I would make the very most of this third choice—I was taking five classes on campus, two institute classes, and had two part-time jobs. Most of my friends had moved away to school and I felt pretty lonely, but I’m not sure I would’ve had time to hang out with them anyway! I felt like I was drowning. This time, I was an 18-year-old girl who, again, was positive she could handle it all on her own. However, I quickly realized I couldn’t handle it for very long, and that weekend was when it all came crashing down. I was talking with a friend, telling her about all of the things that were wrong with my life, and she suggested that I ask my dad for a priesthood blessing. Um…no thanks? Try again. She told me to ask my bishop…my dad had been called as the bishop just a week or two before.

It took some time for me to talk myself into it: I had to keep telling myself that it was okay to ask for help, especially from my dad. That’s what he’s there for! It’s not a crime to acknowledge that we can’t do everything by ourselves. In fact, a lot of things become easier when we realize that we can’t make it through this life on our own, and we don’t have to.  That night, I received counsel from both my earthly father and my heavenly father. I don’t remember much of what was said, but I remember feeling so much peace and love from my father. I knew what I needed to do to move forward and to simplify my life a bit. I quit one of my jobs, I vowed that I’d never take that many classes again in one semester (and I haven’t!), and I finally felt like I had a bit of a better grasp on this new chapter of my life.

Neither of these experiences was particularly enjoyable. Like most of our challenges, those aren’t times in my life that I would care to repeat. However, I don’t know what it would’ve taken for me to gain a testimony of priesthood blessings if those things hadn’t happened. Not only am I grateful for a father and a bishop who is worthy of holding the priesthood and willing to help, but I’m grateful for a heavenly father who has provided this tool for us. It’s such a personal way for us to learn that Heavenly Father is aware of us and of our situation. He knows exactly what we’re going through, and priesthood blessings are just one of the ways that Heavenly Father can guide us, especially in the challenging times in our lives.

2. Our own spiritual preparation and testimony

If we were comparing these divine tools to physical tools that we might find in our garage, I think our spiritual preparation would be our bike pump. We wouldn’t try to go for a bike ride with a flat tire. Personally, I probably wouldn’t go without a water bottle or my headphones either. It’s the same with any other sport or activity—we want to be prepared! Why, then, would we try to make it through tough times without being spiritually prepared, spiritually pumped up? In a talk titled “The Strength to Endure,” Elder Richard J. Maynes said this:

               

“When we face adversity in life and our desire is to emulate the attributes of Jesus Christ, it is essential to be spiritually prepared. Being spiritually prepared means we have developed spiritual stamina or strength—we will be in good shape spiritually. We will be in such good shape spiritually that we will consistently choose the right. We will become immovable in our desire and ability to live the gospel. As an anonymous author once said, ‘you must become the rock the river cannot wash away.’”

We know that now is the time for us to prepare, we hear that all the time. And I think we know what it is we need to do to build our spiritual stamina—it’s those small things we do each day that build us up. We pray, we study, and we act. When challenges come, it’s important that we continue to do those things the Lord has asked, because He knows that they will help and protect us. We can’t afford to be casual—we need to pump it up!

I love what Elder Kevin Pearson said in his talk this past General Conference:

“Life’s journey is challenging. It’s easy to be distracted, wander off the path, and get lost. Tribulation is an inevitable and indispensable part of our eternal progression. When adversity comes, don’t let something you don’t fully understand unravel everything you do know. Be patient, cling to truth; understanding will come. Trials are like great mists of darkness that can blind our eyes and harden our hearts. Unless we are “continually holding fast” to the word of God and living it, we will become spiritually blinded rather than spiritually minded. Search the Book of Mormon and the words of the living prophets every day, every day, every day! It’s the key to spiritual survival and avoiding deception. Without it, we are spiritually lost.”

Let’s talk about Nephi and his brothers for a minute. We know that Laman and Lemuel’s reactions were usually less preferable to Nephi’s “go and do” attitude. That family was asked to do a lot of difficult things. Their lives weren’t easy! But they were all in it together, so why would Laman and Lemuel react so differently from Nephi? I like to think that it’s because Nephi was prepared. Certainly he didn’t always understand why the Lord was asking certain things of them. In fact, in 1 Nephi 11, the spirit of the Lord asks Nephi “Knowest thou the condescension of God?” Nephi replies, “I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.”

It will often be the case that we don’t understand why certain things are happening in our lives. As much as we’d love those instant answers of “Why is this happening to me?” it definitely takes a lot of faith to move forward with the courage of Nephi, with the “go and do” attitude. As we spiritually prepare, as we build our testimonies, our faith will increase. Elder Pearson said that our trials can blind us and harden our hearts. However, as we use this tool Heavenly Father has given us—our knowledge and testimony—we can come out on the other side of our challenges and be better for it.

3. Friends

Our friends are our duct tape. When it seems like our life is falling apart, our friends can help put us back together. I have always felt so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people. When I need someone to listen, someone to laugh with, someone to entertain me, counsel me, or just sit next to me, they’re there. Again, we can’t do everything on our own, and we don’t have to. We’re not where we are by chance. God has surrounded us with good people for a reason. Our friends are here to build us up and help us move forward in life. When I think of what brings me happiness or what motivates me, I think of my friends. One of my favorite quotes from Elder Holland is this: “Times are not always difficult, and when trials come we can get past them more quickly if we remember happiness.” I think that one of the greatest ways we can “remember happiness” is to remember our friends. When I’m trying to fix something in my house, my mind immediately goes to duct tape. So it can be with our friends.

I’ve been home from my mission for about a year and a half, and I was only on my mission for about eight months. During those eight months, I found some of the greatest friends I could ever hope to have. There’s something about facing challenges together that bonds us. One of my favorite mission friends is Christine Sims, who I actually knew before our missions—she’s from Kaysville! She and I were transferred into the same area on my birthday, and it was one of the greatest presents I ever could’ve asked for. We weren’t actually companions, but the three months we spent together were so much fun. We would always joke that it was too bad we had to move across the world to become best friends, but I’m so glad that we did.

During that time, I was companions with Sister Harris, who had been companions with Christine just a few transfers before. Sister Harris and I had a few struggles during our first transfer together: we didn’t always understand each other, I didn’t feel like she valued our companionship, and sometimes, we just didn’t see eye to eye. During our second transfer together, things improved a ton and we really enjoyed being together. But in those first few weeks, I was so glad to have Christine around. Not only did she and her companion lighten the mood and make those hard days a bit more bearable, but because she’d already been companions with Sister Harris, she knew exactly how I was feeling. Just knowing there was someone who understood what was going on in my life made that challenge so much easier to bear. She wasn’t able to fix anything for me, but having her around was the support that Sister Harris and I needed as we worked through our initial challenges and progressed into a strong companionship.

Like I said, after those first few weeks, Sister Harris and I started having a wonderful time together. We were laughing more together and seeing more success in our work. We were setting fun goals together, like memorizing the French national anthem, singing through the entire French hymn book in one transfer, finding all five of the new Magnum bars (which are the best ice cream bars in the entire world) and playing contacting games to motivate us to talk to more people. That transfer was a high point in my mission. However, at the same time, we watched Christine go downhill pretty quickly. She had struggled with depression for most of her mission, and it hit her pretty hard during that transfer. Sister Harris and I would come home at lunch or stop by in between appointments to find Christine in bed and her sweet companion, Sister Johnson, cleaning, studying, or reorganizing our maps—whatever she could do to keep busy. Some mornings, we would all just sit together and cry, because Christine couldn’t stop crying and none of us knew what to do. I cried even more when she told me that she had decided with our mission president that she would be going home at the end of the transfer. What would I do without my new-found best friend? As hard as it was, we both knew it was what needed to happen in her life, and as we said goodbye for the last time (as I bawled on a train platform in Southern France…), I knew it was going to be alright.

Fast-forward another transfer: it was the end of my fourth transfer, the beginning of my fifth. I was starting my second transfer with another favorite mission friend, Sister Jess Everett, in Carcassonne, France.  Jess and I had just had a wonderful transfer together, and I was so thrilled when my mission president called to say that we’d be together another six weeks. I struggled a bit with some anxiety during my first transfer, but I had been fine for a few months and everything seemed to be going well. However, within just a couple of weeks, I felt like I was reliving what happened with Christine, except this time, it was me. Soon, I was the one who wasn’t getting out of bed, and Jess was the one who spent her days studying, organizing, cleaning…she and I watched dozens of training videos, 17 Miracles, any movies we could get our hands on. She was so patient and understanding, I couldn’t have made it through that time without her. There were some good days, a lot of not-so-good days. I mostly couldn’t believe what was happening to me, I didn’t understand it. But I remember being so grateful that I’d had those experiences with Christine. She was okay, and I was going to be okay too.

Things continued to go downhill, and before that transfer was over, I found myself in my mission president’s office and on a plane home the following day. If there was ever I time that I needed my friends, it was then. I can’t even begin to tell you how supported and loved I felt. The few months following my return home were some of the hardest of my entire life, possibly even harder than what I experienced on my mission, but my friends and family were there to keep me together, to hold me up. I still remember the first time I saw Christine after I came back—it felt so good to sit and talk with her and know that there was someone who completely understood what I was feeling. I absolutely do not doubt that we were called to the same mission and the same area for a reason.

I feel the same way about Christine that I do about all of my friends—we’re here together for a reason. Heavenly Father knows what and who we need in this life. He has given us these tools—our friends—as a source of comfort, wisdom and love. Girls, if you’re wondering who your friends are, take a look around you. You’re all part of the Ponds Park ward Young Women right now for a reason. This time of life is not an easy one, we know that. Lean on these friends when you need them, and be there for them when they need you. I promise that out of this group will come some wonderful, life-long relationships. Never underestimate the power of your friends.

4. The Savior

There will be challenges we face in our lives that we don’t understand. There will be times when nothing feels sure, when we just don’t know what to do. And there may be times when we’re sure that no one else could possibly understand what we’re going through. But there is someone who will always understand, and that’s our Savior. He’s our spiritual handyman, and we can call on him at any time at all, to fix our broken hearts and to help us through our challenges. There is nothing he doesn’t understand. He has overcome everything. We can’t make it through our challenges, or through this life, alone. And we don’t have to. He is there, not only to comfort us and carry us, but to help us become who we’re supposed to be. The challenges of life may sometimes seem to be more than we can bear, but with the Savior, these challenges can be experiences that shape our lives and help us to become more like Him. In a talk titled “I Will Not Fail Thee, nor Forsake Thee,” President Monson said this:

“Only the Master knows the depths of our trials, our pain, and our suffering. He alone offers us eternal peace in times of adversity. He alone touches our tortured souls with His comforting words:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Whether it is the best of times or the worst of times, He is with us. He has promised that this will never change.”

The Savior is the best friend we will ever have. Because of the Atonement, the Savior can help us through anything. This doesn’t mean that all of our challenges will just go away or that everything will be fixed all at once. We’re here to progress, and the Savior is there to walk us through our challenges. As we rely on Him in faith, these challenges will not only move us forward, but upward. Like President Eyring said, “the Lord is anxious to lead us to higher ground.”

I don’t think we’ll ever be able to understand just how much our Heavenly Father loves us. Let’s do our best to remember him always, and to remember that we are not alone in our challenges. I’m so thankful for the tools He has provided for us to help us through this life. We will be made better through each of our life experiences. I pray that we can always remember that with the Lord, we can do all things.

what the what, life.

I think about writing something here or in my journal at least twice a week...it's the thought that counts?

That last post featured far too many pictures of my feet...and so much in life has changed since, not just my toes. New roommate, new job, new friends, new...not so much friends, new challenges, new perspectives. Fun times, frustrations and freak-outs. Too many of those unwanted growing up experiences. I JUST WANT TO BE A KID AND NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT DUMB ADULT STUFF, OKAY. Too much to ask?

My life is a good one. Great family, great friends, great things. Even if I have to adjust to this adulting thing, I have good people around me to help. (s/o to said people...if anyone actually reads this?) And, if nothing else, I have hope for the future.

L'Chaim! To life!

Hammer time

I invite you to look at this picture of my lovely feet. 

Aren't they cute? That's my pre-op pedi right there. However, looking closely at my right foot, we can see that toes 2, 3 and 4 (that'd be the middle toes, kids) are curved over and appear shorter than the same toes on my left foot. This is what we call Hammer Toes. (When I tell people I had hammer toe surgery, I get a lot of confused looks. This explanation was for those confused people. You're welcome.)

I've always had ugly feet. I've been made fun of by many a pedicure lady for my terribly calloused feet, my curved toes...I'd had enough. And January 2nd was my day to be done with it.

Major props to Buddy Karen for chilling with me before and after surgery...and for writing such a pressing question on the communication board. Nurse Gwen gave a courtesy chuckle on that one.

Dr. Jason Bruse (two first names! I've taken to just calling him Bruse) is the bomb.com. He puts up with me, laughs at my jokes, and even autographed my foot when he had to mark it for surgery. He's just a cool guy.

Nurse Racheal was probably my favorite person we encountered. We fan-girled over Taylor Swift together and she plugged her phone in back in the OR so we could listen to Shake It Off as I fell asleep. Nurse Tera insisted that T-Swift is overplayed, but Racheal and I disagreed. #1989 #fangirlforlife

My weekend pretty much looked like this, accompanied by a lot of sleep, fun pills, visits with friends, too many YouTube videos, and two seasons of New Girl. I'll admit, I was a little bored at first. Right now, however, I'd go back in two seconds. #iceandelevatefordays

Here's a little before and after action for your viewing pleasure. Look at them straight toes! Swollen, stitched, bruised... I've been told it looks like a Frankenstein foot. But, in the words of my wisest friend Rebecca Rose, "Feet weren't meant to be beautiful, they were meant to be practical." Too true, Becca. Too true.

An anecdote on inspiration.

My foot is hurting worse today than it was yesterday, and I have a feeling it'll hurt worse tomorrow than it does today because I try to do too much. But that's not the point of this story. I'll tell that story tomorrow...with pictures!
Because of said hurting foot, I mostly stayed in bed until about 3:30, when I decided I better get working on the cookies I'd been asked to bring to dinner. I was still in my pajamas as I walked out to the kitchen and started gathering ingredients. The thought came to my mind "You should probably put on a bra." I hate wearing bras, like every other woman in the world, but I went back into my room and changed into something a bit more presentable that also offered some support, if you know what I mean. I then walked into the living room to open the blinds and let a little light into the house. Just as I open them, I see Kevin Farnsworth's car pulling up to my house and hear my phone ring. Kevin was calling, asking if he could come in and visit. Am I so glad I heeded that prompting or what?? Testimony builder right there.

the title of my book.

I was watching The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night (I usually just watch clips on YouTube, but I finally saw part of it on the real TV!) and David Sedaris was on. I've not actually read any of his books (I'll hit the library on my way home tonight...), but he's a funny guy. He was talking about his latest book, Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, and how he came up with the title.


So then I started thinking.


Back up. I really started thinking when I was texting my gf Kasey last Wednesday about 'natural beauty' and suggested she include her thoughts in her book....

What will the title be?

WHY IS THAT SUCH A DIFFICULT QUESTION? How do you want to be remembered by anyone who reads what you write? Such a challenge.

So. I've been thinking. Not that I have plans to write a book, but if I did (and everyone should, right? Everyone has something to say. Or something to say about something that someone else said...), how would I title it? Some ideas...

Yeeeeeeah buddy, a memoir.

Kelsey Richardson: An aspiring Golden Girl

Dancing through Life...and I Can't Dance.

My Left Foot Can't Dance (Come to our Thursday night tap class if you want me to prove it...)

1993 (If Taylor Swift did it, so can I.)

I Can't Even: Growing Up in the Age of Incomplete Sentences.

How to Buy Friends and Manipulate People

Thoughts/suggestions/votes are completely welcome. Nothing is set in stone yet, but this could be a good starting point. I mean, we're given a name before we've done anything significant in life, right? All the good stuff comes after the name.



As We Stumble Along

One of my favorite songs from one of my favorite shows... So much wisdom in this "rousing anthem": we're stumbling through this journey, not sure what to do, but we just need to hope. Push and shove and live and learn. And there will be a song as we plumble.

As we stumble along
on life's funny journey.
As we stumble along into the blue.
We look here, and we look there.
Seeking answers anywhere.
Never sure of where to turn or what to do.


Still we bumble our way
through life's crazy labyrinth.
Barely knowing left from right
nor right from wrong.
And the best that we can do
is hope a blue bird,
will sing his song
as we stumble along.


It's a dismal little world in which we live.
It can bore you till you've nothing left to give.
Seven overrated wonders, sever underwhelming seas.
Six excruciating continents.
Antarctica. Oh please!
Yet you mustn't let it lick you
this planet oh so bland.
Keep your eyeball on the highball
in your hand.

As we stumble along
'cross life's crowded dance floors.
As we push and we shove
we live and we learn.
And when we finally leave the bar,
And we see that morning star,
we pull our boot straps up
and homeward turn.

Then we stumble away
through dawn's blinding sunbeams.
Barely knowing right from right nor left from wrong.
But as long as we can hear that little blue bird
There'll be a song as we stumble along.
As we stumble,
bumble,
fumble,
plumble,

As we stumble along.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Once upon a time, I had to write a book report for my stress management class. I guess that's not too much to ask, since we never have quizzes or tests, and our homework typically consists of only book assignments and naps.
Anyway, I read this book. It was alright. I can't figure out if I liked it or not... But feel free to read what I wrote about it...
The last half is the best, if I do say so myself.

*************************************************************

          The briefest synopsis of this book I could give would be to say it’s the story of a man and his son who, one summer, take a long motorcycle trip together. However, if I were to tell someone that just before they began reading, that wouldn’t give them the slightest inclination as to what this book is really about. There is infinitely more. In fact, I’d venture to say this book is complex enough that no matter how many times you read it, you’d find something new every time.

            To take my synopsis a bit deeper, while the story is about the narrator and his son on a trip, it’s also about his relationship with the few other characters to whom we’re introduced. It’s a comparison of their perceptions of life and his. It’s a recounting of his life and his philosophies through what the narrator calls a “Chautauqua.” Among a large variety of topics covered, the narrator talks of quality, relationships, mental illness, values, technology, theories, acceptance, and of course, motorcycle maintenance.

            While this book does not deal directly with stress management, the narrator talks a lot of thought and behavior. When talking of John and Sylvia Sutherland, the friends who travel with us for the first portion of the book, the narrator points out something very closely related with things we’ve discussed in class: “…they must have been thinking about how bad all this is. That’s what’s really wearing them down. The thought.” Of course it is! If only John and Sylvia knew that our brains were behind absolutely everything, that their thought influenced their situation, their mood, their world. Their situation wasn’t inherently bad; it was merely their perception of the situation, and perhaps the influence of their perception. It’s simply about how we look at things.

            In contrast, the narrator describes another friend we meet, Robert DeWeese, as “all here and now, completely relaxed.” That phrase immediately brought the concept of mindfulness into my thoughts. The narrator says, “I realize that although this is the authentic image of DeWeese himself, it’s also a brand-new person who’s been renewing himself continually and I’m going to have to get to know him all over again.” I love that idea of being so present in the moment that we’re continually changing. While the character is fictional, I think DeWeese’s level of mindfulness is something one ought to work to obtain.

            The concept of Quality is something discussed quite a bit during the second half of the book. It was the focus of Phaedrus’ thoughts and lectures for a time, Phaedrus being the name the narrator used to refer to his younger, “former” self. He became obsessed with trying to define Quality, only to realize that to define Quality would simultaneously remove the Quality and turn it into something less desirable. I loved that Quality didn’t need to be defined, that one could simply know it without having a meaning for it.

            Spoiler alert: isn’t it interesting that, while avoiding giving Quality a definition, Phaedrus realized that the small stipulations he’d put on Quality had defined it, and that it was the realization that led to his downfall? I find that fascinating, and terribly depressing at the same time.

            The short answer to the question of why I chose this book is simply that it was the only book on the provided list that I already owned. The better answer is this: Over this past summer, I celebrated my 21^st birthday. I’m one of those people who tend to approach a birthday with a bit of anxiety—have I accomplished what I hoped I would in the past year? Have I done enough? What will life bring in the next twelve months of my life? What was Oprah doing at 21? You get the idea. Anyway, a good friend and I were at Barnes and Noble one evening, which was not uncommon. My friend is one of the smartest people I know, I trust (nearly) everything she says to be a fact. She’s a couple years older than me, and I very much trust her wisdom, so I asked her to direct me to a book that would change my life (because I’m sure that’s what Oprah would do). She gave me two: Slaughterhouse Five, and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I haven’t finished Slaughterhouse Five, so I can’t yet tell you the impact it’s had on my life.

            I guess the question at this point is whether or not the book fulfilled its purpose—has it changed my life? Right now, my answer is not yet. As I mentioned at the beginning of my ramblings, this book is complex. For me, reading the narrator’s Chautauqua is comparable to reading Isaiah in the Old Testament. What do I know of Kant or Plato or Aristotle? Surely I know more now than I did at the beginning of the book, but it’d take at least another reading or two to better grasp the teachings analyzed in this book. I need time to process.

I’m not sure that I’d recommend this book to others, unless it were to be my aforementioned smart friend, in which case, she’s already read it. This book requires commitment, it isn’t light reading. And who has time for commitment these days? For weeks, I was sure that all I wanted was to finish reading this novel and move on. However, multiple times, I found myself craving this book. Sitting at my desk at work, I’d wonder what Phaedrus was going to teach next. I’d be thinking about Chris and what his mother was like and what his future would be. Mostly, I’d wonder what the narrator’s name was, and the lack of an answer will never cease to bother me. And, thanks to my cursed curiosity, and an insane desire to understand Aristotle, I’m afraid I have to read the book again. Thanks a lot, Mr. Pirsig. You have me hooked.