Book Review!

I am part of a book club and have been for over a year now. We meet 10x per year and take off July and December. We also have 10 members so we each take a turn hosting for a month. When it is your month to host you get to choose the book, prepare a meal, and lead the discussion. I have enjoyed this group so much. I love to read and the best thing about this group is that I have been introduced to many books that I don't know that I would have read otherwise. I have decided that I would like to do a book review of the book we read for our club every month. Maybe someone out there will be introduced to a wonderful book they haven't heard of yet!!



For the month of January we read the book Reconstructing Natalie by Laura Jensen Walker. This book is about a young woman, named Natalie, who suddenly finds herself facing breast cancer. She is 27 years old, unmarried and living in her parents backyard in a cottage house.

This book really had me from the beginning. Laura Jensen Walker is an amazing writer. She takes a topic as sad and daunting as breast caner and turns it into a touching yet humorous story. Her writing style is so easy to read and at the end of this book I was disappointed because I wanted to read more about Natalie and the other main characters. Laura Jensen Walker makes it so easy to feel connected to the people she is writing about.

I found myself thinking about me, personally, because I am about the same age as the main character, Natalie. I like to think that I am too young for bad things to happen to me. But, the fact is bad things can happen to anyone and we get to decide how these "bad" things will affect our lives. We can dwell in depression and despair or we can push through the fear and sadness and become a better and stronger person.

This book has a lot of Biblical values weaved throughout it, but in such a way that you don't feel bombarded with religion. I really enjoyed reading about Natalie's struggles and how her cancer diagnosis shaped and challenged the way she was living her life, not only spiritually, but in many other ways as well.

If you are looking for a book that will make you laugh, cry and think then I highly recommend this book! You will not want to put this book down until you have read the last page!