READING THROUGH THE UNITED STATES...HAWAII

Hawaii...

Being over 4,000 miles, and a slightly expensive trip, away from my home, Hawaii is not likely a place I will ever be able to visit. Sure I could scrimp and save for several years and maybe take the trip of a lifetime, but if I’m being completely honest with myself I’m not sure that it would be the place I would choose. From all that I’ve seen it might be one of the most beautiful places in the world, just not where I would choose as my once in a lifetime trip. So to say that I’m perfectly content seeing a place through the eyes of a character, in this instance, is no exaggeration. The book I chose not only took me there, but also made me a native, part of a whole new family, and a part of the island history. 

The book I chose, The Descendants, by Kaui Hart Hemmings, is the authors debut novel. I was skeptical at first about reading the book at all, because it didn’t sound like a book that would draw me in, but since the part of the idea behind reading through the United States was to introduce myself to new authors and genres, I decided to take the plunge. I was not disappointed. 

The main character Matt King is descended from Hawaii Royalty and early missionaries. Living a life of wealth and privilege, it seems that his life has been perfect, but scratch beneath that surface and something else emerges. A near fatal accident leaves his wife, Joanie in a coma, and before she is taken off life support, her family struggling with coming to terms with their own grief and even relief, have set out to make sure that all her other family and friends have a chance to say goodbye. But what if in giving everyone a chance to say goodbye, you find people you didn’t know and secrets you were never meant to know. 

For me, this was not a book about death or even dying, but a book about the people left behind. The truths and lies we find and those we’ve lived.  It’s about making sense of the imperfections of our loved ones and making peace with them. It’s about forgiving and honoring them in death. It was a book that for anyone who had suffered a loss of love one will easily recognize the journey of grief. And yes it is a journey.