Here are the comments I might
have contributed to a blog post comprising short comments contributed by Book
Club members: I liked how Lexie understood herself. She knew what her thoughts were
and what they meant to her. Very difficult emotions. Although it is the drug
that causes the addiction, fooling with the drug might be caused by broken
family problems, loss of father and then almost loss of mother at same time. Ending
was good: some healing and the Mom got healing, too, when strong mother
instincts won out over Robert.
Marcia nominated Before I Let You Go, by Kelly Rimmer. In
preparation for presenting the book for discussion, she researched the author. Rimmer
had posted a photo of her dogs, with some comments. Marcia emailed Rimmer asking
about the dogs and received a gracious reply! Everyone loves to communicate
about their dogs! Referring to the photo, Rimmer said that the 80-pound 3-year
old Labrador named Sully chews everything and that Basil, half Sully’s size, is
the boss dog and is afraid of balloons. Everyone at our meeting, perhaps
especially Rimmer, appreciated this comic relief break from the story.
Marcia led a lively
discussion of lots of aspects of the story and characters! She structured the
discussion by using stimulating questions suggested at the end of the book. Everyone
agreed that the book was well-written. The following are comments expressed
during the discussion:
Joanne thought the author wrote
Annie’s death as a convenience…Joanne felt that a real situation would have
been messier.
Regarding characters whom we
disliked, readers unanimously disliked Robert. Most noticed that Mary, the
social worker, was blunt, abrupt, and unlikeable at first and mellowed a bit after
time passed. Most readers identified most with Lexie.
Carla suggested that Lexie had
some codependence problems. Ideas included that this was a natural outcome for Lexie,
having had a difficult childhood with Annie as her only confidant. Lexie’s
tendency toward codependence was manifest in her relationship with her fiancée,
Sam. She got a little too hysterical and should have had a cooler head as an MD.
But, because of childhood and family and because Annie was her baby sister, her
emotionality was reasonably assigned by the author. We talked about the fine
line Lexie followed between supporting and enabling Annie.
As often happens, people
offered examples from their experiences and acquaintances involving drug addiction.
This part of the discussion is always captivating and presents a valid reason
for getting out to Barnes & Noble on a third Monday afternoon, even if it’s
rainy and cold! Drug addiction is an interesting, complex, frustrating and
always timely topic requiring thought and diligence from anyone who is acquainted
with a drug addict.
We discussed whether pregnant
women with addiction should be prosecuted. Marcia showed us an article that indicated
which states have laws incriminating and incarcerating women who expose their
fetuses to drugs. Quality rehab seemed to be the most popular solution that our
group would prefer.
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