The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry

I just finished this book and I have to say it was the first book in a little while that I felt the need to just sit down and devour regardless of what else I could be doing.

I mentioned before that I was having trouble getting into the book, and I definitely did. It's a library book, due back tomorrow, and I had told myself if I didn't finish it by then I would take it back regardless. I can only think of 2 books ever that I never finished, so that says alot. Of course, by yesterday, I was so into it that I was going to renew it if I needed to. I don't need to. =)

The book is about a lady, Roseanne McNulty, who is 100 years old, living in a mental instituion in Ireland that is scheduled to be closed. Dr. Grene must evaluate her to decide if she was committed because she was truly insane or if she could be released. (Like a 100 year old woman without any family could survive outside of some institution, but that's not the point) The story alternates between her written account of her life and Dr. Grene's written account of his evaluation.

I guess what finally hooked me was that he doesn't just lay out the reason she was committed and I just had to know. The book got progressively easier to read for me as it went on. I will say I was honestly shocked at the end. Like my jaw literally dropped open shocked.

I'm glad I stuck with the book and it was worth the struggle in the beginning. It would be an awesome audio book, I bet... I love a good Irish accent. =) I believe this was #27 on my 101 books. Next is The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes.

List Update

I'm making some changes to my 101 List. The idea of setting a frequency on some things was not good for me. There are quite a few holes now that I need to fill. I added a few things and will need to add more. It was good to go over it. Next time I'm bored I need to look at it to find something to do because there are plenty of projects that I can work on little by little. Of course, being bored is a rarity... =)

Silly me...

Sarah reminded me that I never gave any updates on quitting smoking.

Well... I'd have to go back to see when my actual quit date was supposed to be. And I'm too lazy for that tonight. But I didn't do it then. I tried. I cut back. Eventually I was down to 2 or 3 a day and still couldn't bear to just stop. I was hiding it from my husband - who had quit with me. My justificaiton was that if I was hiding it, I was less likely to smoke more than the couple I was smoking. He knew, of course. But I needed to think he didn't.

We went on vacation in mid-June. My last cigarette was a few days before we left. Driving for 3 days didn't really leave me any opportunity to smoke and then staying with relatives... it just always feels rude to me to excuse myself to smoke. By the time we got home I honestly had forgotten all about smoking. Maybe it helped to have cut down so much beforehand, so I didn't have the physical withdrawal as badly as I could have and then being so busy overshadowed any psychological withdrawal.

On occassion I'll miss going outside and taking a break from life, because that's what smoking was for me - a break. I didn't smoke in the house, so in order to smoke, I was away from my kids, the noise, often my husband. At work, I would have to leave the hospital campus, so I had to drive around the neighborhood. I do miss that. Not the cigarettes or nicotine, just the getting away from it all. But when I do think about it, it's a fleeting thought, not a huge craving that I struggle with. I'm very happy and proud of it. =)