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| Cafe Luna |
Dear Bookclub,
Discussing Frank Bruni's "The Beauty of Dusk", brought out the joyful life in us. We were loud, we laughed and we appreciated Bruni's reminders about our precious time.
A book about a New York Times journalist, now a professor at Duke University, going blind hardly seems like the backdrop for our mirth yet his poignant story described human resiliency and the positive attitude of moving forward. Respecting his journey and those of others he encountered, we were awed and inspired.
Wanda shared some of her favorite Bruni quotes:
"People who flourish make a decision to flourish. They point themselves toward joy."
"It requires attention, openness, and humility … the recognition that something ordinary could be extraordinary. Without therapy or thought, Regan reveled in being alive. That helped me do the same.” (Regan, the dog) ...
"No journey pays greater dividends than the one from assumptive to appreciative."
I loved the sandwich board concept. As Bruni described in an NPR interview*:
"What I mean by the sandwich board theory is if every one of us, everyone you came in contact with, was wearing something on the exterior that told you what he or she had struggled with in the past, was struggling with right then, the anxieties, the heartaches, you would understand much better how many people, which is basically everyone's struggle in some way, you would be much, much less inclined to self-pity, and I think you would be called to a degree of empathy that ideally we would always all show one another."
Wanda's suggestions for an upcoming read:
"Lessons in Chemistry" Bonnie Garmus
"West with Giraffes" Lynda Rutledge *chosen
"The Personal Librarian" Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray
Up next:
Happy reading
LK
