“Are you okay?” That’s what I heard from the front seat of the van as I took a very long pause from reading out loud.
For the past few days we have been on a road trip and although I was in the middle of a book when we started the trip I just decided that if mom and dad wanted to listen then I was up for reading. The first day I totally hurt my voice and sounded all gravely when I talked. The book was just too good and I didn’t want to put it down. As we drove the next day I read some more and started practicing better reading skills. By the time we drove home today I was anxious to finish the compelling story. We were reading Boys in the Boat and I got so into the story that I was reading at a furious rate all while mimicking a sports radio show host in the middle of a gripping game.
The story follows Joe Rantz and his eight other teammates on their quest for gold at the 1936 Olympic games as an eight oared rowing team. Since these games were held in Berlin shortly before WWII the history of that time is laced throughout as it played a crucial role in the narrative. It is poignant and shocking.
I expected the book to be good. What I didn’t expect was to get to the end and stop dead in the middle of a sentence not due to a dry throat but because I literally couldn’t contain the tears that suddenly streamed down my face nor control the shake of my voice. “Are you okay?” my dad asked. The last time I remember crying because a book touched me like that was when I was thirteen so this was pretty significant. These men and their lives stirred something in me that you can only understand if you read the book (I’m still trying to process). It was gratefulness for what they did and an awe of who they were. Men just don’t come like that these days. Men like my grandfather. I’m not saying that there aren’t great men out there (I know lots of them!) what I am saying is that these men were cut from a different cloth, almost a different breed. They weren’t perfect but they did overcome massive hurdles.
So I sat there and honored their memory and what they did in that boat by crying tears of overwhelmed wonder and thanks. Thankful that hardships make strong people. Thankful for freedom. Thankful for my grandparents that lived in hard times and overcame. Thankful for the sheer joy of seeing underdogs conquer. Thankfulness for what trust can do.
Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown is a gripping true story of some lives that have gone before us. The writing is impeccable and will draw you in. I hope you will take the time to read it and “meet” Joe and the boys in the boat. Their chant alone inspired me. M.I.B. Mind in the boat. If you want to be inspired then I highly recommend this as part of your summer reading list!
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