Follow Your Heart

I have been working on clearing out some of my books, which has been both painful and joyful.  It is hard to not get distracted as I pull each book our and decided "keep or not".

But in going with joy, the weeding out has been quite successful so far.  However, I do  believe it will be a never-ending challenge.

Anyway, as I was working on a section of bookshelves, I came across a thin little book called Follow Your Heart by Susanna Tamaro.  I read the jacket and decided that I needed to read the book again and then make a decision about stay or go for that particular book.

The book came out in English in 1996, so I probably read it about twenty years ago.  It was originally written in Italian and won "the coveted Premio Donna Citta di Roma".

The story grabbed me right away...an elderly Italian woman was writing a letter to her beloved granddaughter, who had gone off to America on an adventure.  The old woman knew that she was nearing death and had no intention of sending the letter as she didn't want her granddaughter to give up her time in America and come back to her.  But she did want to leave her story (the letter) for her granddaughter.

The book covers three generations and is a moving testament to a woman's life, her struggles and her loves.   She shares all this in the letter with the message to her granddaughter that no matter what happens, in the end, follow your heart.

It's a nice simple quick read (I read it in one evening), and a good story.  I'm glad that I reread it, but now I can let it go on to someone else!