The thought of fall makes me nauseous.

Well, maybe  it's not true nausea, just a phantom churning in my gut.  You see, I have been pregnant 3 of the previous 7 fall seasons . By pregnant I mean 1st trimester, hating life and wish I could banish all food, pregnant.  I’m not expectant again but I've spent so many Autumn days on the verge of puking that I don't quite know how to separate the benign fall memories from the taxing ones.  The scent of leaves on the ground, the smell of cinnamon, even the golden glow of the fall sun all seem to remind me of vomit.  It’s really too bad that a perfectly good season had to be ruined. 

Luckily, Brady is a stalwart defender of fall.  He relishes and inhales fall. He wakes up every fall day cheering, basking in the fall-ness.   He makes note of the way he loves the sound of leaves under his feet, the way he enjoys being forced to wear light jackets in the morning. He loves college football, pumpkin and apple desserts, and with his exclamations of fall joy- he works on me, the scrooge of fall.

If I were a lover of fall, the East coast would be my perfect place. Here fall saunters in slowly, takes her time to get situated, and lingers just the right amount of time.  It’s not like Alaska where fall always prematurely kills summer.  No, here fall is just perfect. It could be great, if (maybe when) it gets a second chance.

Every once in a while a book finds me with perfect timing.  This book is a collection of letters written by 2 women, as they try to figure out faith and how it correlates with life.  Many of their thoughts echoed my own and by the end of the book, the authors seem like friends of mine. 

Every once in a while a book finds me with perfect timing.  This book is a collection of letters written by 2 women, as they try to figure out faith and how it correlates with life.  Many of their thoughts echoed my own and by the end of the book, the authors seem like friends of mine. 

So. . .  I wrote them a letter thanking them for their book. Here it is:

Dear Jess and Amy-

 Your book is simply perfect, a treasure. I stumbled upon it in my library's 'new book' section and it immediately resonated with me. Each time I would go to return it to the library I felt sad, so I'd renew it. Until all my renewals ran out and I decided it was worth it to pay the .25 a day late fee just to have it on my bookshelf. Needless to say, I just couldn’t part with the book and eventually I bought it.

 I discovered your book at an opportune time for me- a period where my life and my faith, is growing and expanding, when I was thinking about weighty things like death, the character of God, and how faith plays out in our lives.

Your book was like a conversation I wanted to have. I appreciated the way you allowed yourself to express things that made you feel vulnerable- frank doubts, daunting philosophical questions, and personal observations- this made your book especially refreshing.

I’m not sure if I should thank fate, God, or just good luck for finding your book. Either way, I’m thankful for your insights and inspiration!

Danielle Firth

Washington D.C.