Dear Reader,
Sarah Jio is a journalist and the #1 international and New York Times bestselling author of eleven novels, including With Love From London, which will be released on February 8th. To learn more about Sarah, today's guest author, visit www.sarahjio.com
Sarah's giving away five copies of her new book, With Love From London. To enter send an email to: [email protected] Be sure to include your preferred mailing address.
For Shel Silverstein It Was The Giving Tree--for Me It's One Incredibly Resilient Rose
One of my earliest (and dearest) childhood memories is of my father tearing up while reading me Shel Silverstein's classic, The Giving Tree. While the book may masquerade as a children's book, it's a story for people of all ages because its message is profound.
In my life, I've thought a lot about that book--as a wide-eyed college student, a fledgling writer, an exhausted new parent--but the story became even more special to me when I considered the fact that I had a "giving tree" in my own life, well, a giving rose.
I was twelve years old when my mom came home from the local nursery with a small, red rose bush that she planted in our side garden. Fancy French perfumes didn't even compare. It had a fragrance unlike anything I'd ever experienced. For years, it grew happily, offering seemingly infinite blossoms--sometimes even in the dead of winter, gracing us with a rare flower, it's deep crimson color bursting against the backdrop of snow. It thrived, and we loved it.
The year after I graduated from college, my parents announced that they were selling my beloved childhood home, and I tearfully prepared to say goodbye--to the walls and windows I grew up inside, but also to the rosebush I'd come to love.
One late-summer afternoon in the garden, just a few weeks until the moving truck would arrive, I hatched a plan. "Wait," I said, turning to my mom. "What if I...dug up the rose and replanted it in my garden in Seattle?"
While we both loved gardening (and still do!), neither of us would consider ourselves horticulturalists, and a quick Internet search confirmed that the rose's odds of survival weren't in our favor. Transplanting is always a risky proposition, but if it must be done, the fall months are preferable--not the peak of summer, which it was when I grabbed a shovel and begun digging. I separated the roots, placed it in a large pot and carted the rose home--hoping (and praying) for the best.
I know, it's just a plant. But I was anxious, nonetheless. Would it survive? Had I just killed one of the most beautiful memories of my childhood? I took a deep breath and placed it in its new home--a partial-sun, partial-shade corner of my Seattle backyard.
For the first few weeks, the rose looked anemic, as though her leaves might spontaneously curl up and shrivel, giving up the fight. In fact, I thought she might. But I forged on--doting on her, watering, checking. And then! One late-fall morning, there it was: a blossom, as red and fragrant as ever. It was as if she whispered, "I'm still here. I always will be."
And she has been. After I sold that home, the rose came with me to the next. And after a painful divorce, she came with me to the next. And after a joyous remarriage, she is now resting, and blooming, in what I hope is her forever home--my own little "giving tree," with flowers on her branches and roots of steel that remind me of home, family, stories and the very best things in life.
-- Sarah Jio
To enter a drawing for a copy of With Love From London, send an email to: [email protected] Be sure to include your preferred mailing address.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.
RACING WITH ALOHA: An Inspiring Journey from Humble Barefoot Maui Boy to Champion in the Water (NONFICTION) by Fred Haywood
Racing with Aloha is part adventure tale, part spiritual memoir. I met my friend Mark Spitz in high school, which led me to a championship swimming career. Later, I surfed isolated Indonesian beaches, mentored a young Laird Hamilton, and competed in world-renowned windsurfing contests, from Maui to England to Africa during the sport's heyday.
I'm giving away five copies click on the link to Authorbuzz for a chance to win one of five books and to learn how you can enter for a chance to win a pair of Maui Jim sunglasses!
Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on RACING WITH ALOHA to read more and to email author Fred Haywood, you'll get a reply.
KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.
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