To Love and Be Loved

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Life in a small town can go for wonderful to stifling in a minute. People seem to remember the a memorable incident, at least until the next one comes along. But, some incidents invoke heartbreak, a touch of scandal which never goes away and always a look of pity, whether real or imagined. Until we realize that we are in control of either fueling the fire or putting it out. Merrin is so excited to start her new life in the fishing village where she grew up. What starts with so much promise, ends completely different and Merrin is forced with making hard decisions. Merrin led a simple, quiet life that made her very happy. She needed nothing more than to be near her family, to walk barefoot in the grass and to have the sea breeze tousle her long hair. To Love and Be Loved is a spirited challenge to a culture obsessed with romance and intimacy but dangerously ignorant of the full range of human love. Like a fresh wind, Sam Keen sweeps away tired self-help nostrums and reams of "bad advice from Dr. Lonelyhearts" to reveal a stunningly new map of love in all its forms.

Until the one thing she never expected to happen, happens. Filled with humiliation, Merrin flees her beloved hometown to forget her sorrows, but with a huge sense of regret at leaving her family behind. You continue to work at practicing your new behavior, but it’s not a struggle any more. ... Some people simply remain in this stage.

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From a trusted advisor and devoted friend of Mother Teresa comes a "powerful" ( The Washington Free Beacon) firsthand account of the miraculous woman behind the saint and a book that is "rich in reflection on contemporary sanctity" (George Weigel). From a trusted advisor and devoted friend of Mother Teresa comes a “powerful” ( The Washington Free Beacon) firsthand account of the miraculous woman behind the saint and a book that is “rich in reflection on contemporary sanctity” (George Weigel). The book has a beautiful, heart-warming ending. In fact, the whole book is heart-warming with a great plot and even better characters. It's an easy but slow read and enjoyable throughout. This is such a beautiful story! This is my second book written by Prowse and I love how she writes genuine stories with well-developed characters. This one explored many themes of family, friendship, love and happiness. It was bittersweet; at times heart wrenching but also filled with so much love and hope. Merrin is the main character in this book. She goes through so much and you will feel for her. She is so much stronger than she thinks though. After the heartaches and losses she still runs barefoot on the beach. She still loves deeply the people that she holds close and dear. She's a survivor. I really liked her so much.

The happy ending was good, but bringing a new love interest in the last chapter somehow didn’t work for me. Given what Merrin repeats throughout the book, it felt surreal. Merrin and her family live in a beautiful coastal fishing village in Cornwall. She can’t imagine ever leaving, her roots are tethered to the land she loves. When Merrin is left at the altar waiting for the groom that never shows she is completely heartbroken. She moves away and starts a new life far from her family and the lovely seaside village she grew up in and loved with all her heart. It is only the death of her beloved father that brings her home. I enjoyed the rich coastal setting and the captivating characters in this story but felt Merrin overreacted to an admittedly horrible event. It cost her dearly in the end. I also couldn’t accept the last-minute addition of a love interest who becomes the love of her life- all in the last chapter or two of the book. I think it would have read better if she woke to the realization of how much the chef meant to her.The Disconnected State: “ Disconnection is the inability to feel and experience the warmth of connection over time.” Merrin was in love and excited to marry her beau, Digby. She could see her entire future with her family and Digby in Port Charles, Cornwall. It was her home, after all. But the day of the wedding leaves her shattered and vulnerable. Merrin leaves her home in the fishing village to rebuild her life. We follow Merrin's life journey as her future is ripped apart and she flees her home to try and make a life elsewhere. But, as we all know, the problem with running away is that we take along the problems that are in our hearts and our heads. And at some point, we just have to turn around and deal with them. Attention is the second prong of self-love. Attention means examining what brings pleasure or alleviates pain and to invest in providing for both. It is a form of self-love easily amplified by mindfulness, reflection, stillness. In taking the time to listen to one’s body and honor a need for food, drink, movement, an increase or decrease in stimulation, we learn to identify our own needs, to discriminate between needs and wants, and to discover ways to care for ourselves. Yoga stretches can be metaphors for stretching oneself in other ways; balance postures can reflect internal equilibrium; the regular practice of the art can build self-discipline. Our subtler needs come into focus when we slow down and pay attention. Mother Teresa was one of the most admired women of the 20th century, and her memory continues to inspire charitable work around the world. She believed the greatest need of a human being is to love and be loved. In 1948, she founded the Missionaries of Charity to work directly with the very poorest of Calcutta. From the efforts of one woman entering the slums of Entally, the Missionaries of Charity grew into an organization operating soup kitchens, health clinics, hospices, and shelters in 139 countries, at no cost to any government or to those who served. In 2016, she became Saint Teresa of Calcutta.