Are you a collector? Are your bookshelves loaded with Hummels, tiny spoons, Franklin Mint commemorative plates? No? Me neither. Nothing makes me shudder more than a marathon episode of Hoarders. Not even books clutter my shelves.
The reason? Every book I’ve ever bought has sprung a pair of legs and walked off to my girlfriends’ houses. The only books that stick around are the ones I didn’t like. And they only leave by force, like reluctant children off to camp.
But there’s an exception to every rule.
There is one book that I’ve loved for thirty-five years and is never allowed to leave. Its binding is loose. Its pages, soft and limp. There is a purple crayon scribble on page seven. I can recite every line by heart, and I weep as I turn the last page.
My grandfather gave me MISS TWIGGLEY’S TREE in 1974 when I was a little girl. It wasn’t my birthday. It wasn’t Christmas. He gave it to me on a Tuesday in June after Grandma finished washing my hands with Ivory soap. He said it was just because he loved me.
It is all I have left of him now. I read it to my own children. It does more to tell them about their great-grandfather than any worn photograph ever could, and it’s that lesson that I remember:
Before giving a child a figurine, or a stuffed animal that will only litter a book shelf, I try to find that one special book that will speak to that child.
And when in doubt, I look for that funny Miss Twiggley who lived in a tree “with a dog named Puss and a color t.v.”
I know many of you are Molly Ringwald fans as I am. Her image as a “teen” will follow her all the days of her life. Her books GETTING THE PRETTY BACK explores how women can recapture that feeling of “pretty” inside and out as we age. I love her voice and am really looking forward to exploring the book with you.
THE POCKET THERAPIST would make a great gift for girlfriends (and may save you a lot of time) from one of my favorite women online of all time, Therese Borchard. I began reading her Beyond Blue blog on Beliefnet.com two years ago and have followed her since. She even took the time to e-mail me back when I’d sent her fan mail and mailed me a couple of books. She’s SO HONEST about her journeys and such a refreshing read on the blogosphere and now in this book. Personally, I think ALL OF US NEED THERAPY whether we get that help from good friends, a real therapist or books, so why not explore the book for some tips to living well and making the most of our time here?