When a Book Finds You

Sometimes you come across a book that stops you completely. You open it with no expectations, and then there are feelings, not pages, just pure humanity and empathy and profound gravity. I recently found that in FLORIOGRAPHY CHILD: A MEMOIR IN POEMS by Lisa C. Krueger. I cannot recommend it enough, especially if you or a loved one has experienced chronic or invisible illness. More specifically, this poetry collection based on true events follows a mother who is helping her daughter cope with illness in a medical system that systematically denies women proper treatment or trust. It’s heartbreaking, beautiful, and empowering.

“Once I asked a friend who was going

through cancer treatment if there was

something I could do for her. Yes, she

said, you could get cancer, too, so I

wouldn’t feel so alone.

Sometimes I wish people could have

just one day—or one hour—of my

daughter’s life. I wish I could hear what

they would say. It’s real. It’s actually real.”

Unfortunately, I had a lot of health issues last year. Between healing from my emergency C-section and a hospital stay caused by CDiff, I experienced our broken medical system firsthand. Even worse, though, was how my community began to treat me differently. This collection spoke to me in ways I needed at one of the lowest parts of my life.

Thankfully, I am doing much better now. This book was part of that healing.

To be honest, I found this memoir by accident. I was searching for “Floriography: An Illustrated Guide to the Victorian Language of Flowers” by Jessica Roux, a current bestseller. Meanwhile, FLORIOGRAPHY CHILD has two reviews on Amazon and has got to be one of the most beautiful books I have read. It was exactly what I needed. It found me. I am forever grateful.

“Some say time heals. Yet maybe the

body holds what happens forever. The

way earth holds us.”

Please pick this one up, and tell me about a book that found you in the comments below.  

~SAT