Awareness …
This is not my usual type of entry but I wanted to share it nevertheless. The Lion’s club in our town has started a wonderful project. They have set up a book exchange in our Post Office. People bring in books that they want to pass on and you are free to take whatever strikes you.
Recently I picked up Anita Shreve’s book Strange Fits of Passion. It is about domestic abuse and it really didn’t speak to me until I realized that whoever had the book before me had highlighted certain passages with a yellow marker. Here are just a few of them:
Once you tell your first lie, the first time you lie for him, you are in it with him and then you are lost.
It was because he loved me, because he cared so much. And in the distance my anger would develop, so that what he said about me became a self fulfilling prophesy.
I began to hope that he’d die in an air crash … it was the only way I knew of to get free from him.
Isn’t that chilling? All I could think as I read on was that this book had been in the hands of a person who was, or had been, in an abusive situation. This could be a neighbor or someone that I’ve smiled at as we pass by in the Post Office…smiled at but not really SEEN.
Most likely I will never find out who left that book but it made me realize that life is very difficult, at best, for so many of my fellow travelers on this earth . The very least I can do is to always be aware of this …
A smile, a kind word. Who knows? It’s little enough but it might be the only bright spot in a person’s life that day.
posted by Ginnie at 4:41 PM
10 Comments:
Oh, my. Domestic violence is one of those very chilling occurrences. And, you are right, it can happen to anyone--people we see in our daily lives without realizing what they are going through.
I thank God I've never had to deal with physical violence, and I feel sorry for anyone who does.
Good thoughts Ginny, but I'll pass on the book. How sad.
What a blessing that the book did not speak to you personally. But how touching that it still spoke to you on behalf of others. I cannot imagine living life in that kind of fear.
Great post. We all need to be more aware of the problems others are facing. The very least we can do is to look others in the eyes and smile at them.
We donated our older phones a month ago to a local office that helps victims of domestic Many other people bring theirs to thrift stores, sometimes complete and often not., but a better choice would be to donate to domestic violence orgs. The usable ohones are given to people to use in an emergency situation.
That's a great idea, Beatrice. I didn't know there was such a service and will surely pass it on.
I lived with violence for the years that I had to live with my mother and step-father. Alcohol and violence.
Another great gift - if you have any stuffed toys to get rid of - the Centers can always use them. Give some little kid some comfort. Often then escape with only the shirts on their backs.
I left my first husband after I had a dream someone shot him. It's so easy to make excuses.
It is chilling to read what was underlined. I don't think most of us know the pain that others suffer. And so many of us have masked what is really going on and pretended that everything is okay. Glad to not do that anymore.
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