and now i get to go more in depth into why my love for this book runs deep. it's rare that you find an author who speaks volumes to your heart through their writing. every page echos the story that is being written through your own life, and each chapter reinforces the themes that you yourself are living and learning.
and shauna does that. she does it with the way she writes and invites you into her journey, telling the tales and adventures to you as if you were sitting across from her over a cup of coffee. and with each chapter you just want to shout "me, too!" and "i know, girl, i know."
sure, the circumstances vary, and the characters are different, but the lessons are the same. it's the same Big Story that we are all living.
so, why "bittersweet"?
in shauna's words, "bittersweet is the idea that in all things there is both something broken and something beautiful, that there is a sliver of lightness on even the darkest of nights, a shadow of hope in every heartbreak, and that rejoicing is no less rich when it contains a splinter of sadness. bittersweet is the practice of believing that we really do need both the bitter and the sweet, and that a life of nothing but sweetness rots both your teeth and your soul. bitter is what makes us strong, what forces us to push through, what helps us earn the lines on our faces and the calluses on our hands. sweet is nice enough, but bittersweet is beautiful, nuanced, full of depth and complexity. bittersweet is courageous, gutsy, earthy." (p. 11)
man. how true is that? i think about the hardest days i've lived, the deepest valleys i've walked, and the loneliest times i've sat in... yes, in most respects they are dark and difficult, always involving heartache and usually the death or deference of dreams and hopes.
but it is those instances that have defined and refined who i am. i think about the verse in isaiah that talks about turning "ashes into beauty" and the mourning and heaviness into praise and gladness. because it's true that nothing beautiful or alive is born without the pains of labor; without the shifting, shaping, and carving of creation and change.
"this is what i've come to believe about change: it's good, in the way that childbirth is good, and heartbreak is good, and failure is good. by that i mean that it's incredibly painful, exponentially more so if you fight it, and also that it has the potential to open you up, to open life up, to deliver you right into the palm of God's hand, which is where you wanted to be all along, except that you were too busy pushing and pulling your life into exactly what you thought it should be." (p. 13)
and that's what it's all about: balancing the sweet and the bitter. thankful in every circumstance. finding the joy, grace, and "shadow of hope" in each moment. gaining the wisdom to expect change- seeing it, as shauna puts it, as "one of God's greatest gifts, and most useful tools".
so, obviously, i'm a huge fan of this book, and highly recommend it to all of you.
and here are a couple of ways you can continue this conversation...
first,
i'm giving away a signed copy of bittersweet to one of you lucky readers! just
leave a comment about something in your own story that has been bittersweet, and i'll randomly pick the winner! you have until wednesday evening to enter (ends 7pm on 11/17), and i'll announce the winner on thursday!
{want to read some of bittersweet for yourself? here's a sample chapter (one of my favorites): "things i don't do"}
second,
shauna is coming to nashville this weekend! i'm hosting a "bittersweet brunch" saturday morning (10am) at
edgehill cafe, and shauna will be reading some excerpts from the book, doing a q&a, as well as signing books! it's a
free event, and we'll have some brunch food there, too.
please join us and spread the word!
{if you don't win the giveaway and/or you can't make it to the event-
definitely go get a copy of bittersweet on amazon!}
let's face it, we've had 2 weeks of holiday tuesday tunes so far - might as well keep this going all through december!
