Hi, our new Oprah pick, "A Mountain Of Crumbs" by Elena Gorokhova is a Memoir that defines how family shapes us forever.
The author shares fifteen great family photographs on page 215 that really help us see how her upbringing in Russia shaped her life. Though her life was in some ways harsh, cold and barren of any luxuries she was filled with treasures of the heart.
The author portrays how the love of her mother helped her develop confidence even in the middle of a confining Communist regime that limited so many aspects of Elena's life.
As I begin this Memoir I am reminded of my own family history and how regardless of my intense problems as a child It was always the love of my parents and other relatives that granted me inner strength too.
Let's be inspired by this new Oprah pick, I'll blog again soon, Take care everyone and stay inspired, Leslie
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And how our perceptions of our family change over the years. The other day I had a long phone conversation with my uncle. 80 years old! His mom (my grandma) died when I was 4 years old. His father (my grandpa) died in 1981 of psirrosi... oh how to you spell it? He drank himself to death. When I was in high school grandpa lived with us. My only memories were of his drunken comments criticizing entire races and groups of people. I would argue with him to not generalize, that for example, not all hippies kill people. (He argued that Charles Manson was a hippie, so all hippies are murderers, too. This did not go over well with his hippie pacifist grand daughter).
ReplyDeleteBut, listening to my uncle tell of his father's life, I felt my heart open up to him with incredible compassion and empathy.
Grandpa built a house by hand for him and his wife to live in for the rest of their lives. But, less than five years after moving in, she died.
In his grief he sold it all and "drifted" as my uncle said. He died barely 15 years later.
When I look back over the last 15 years of my life, it is a blink of an eye.
I had thought that grandpa had always been drunk and depressed, because that was how I knew him.
Now, I think of him with tenderness. I wonder what materials he used to build the house. What his dreams were as he labored day after day, all alone, constructing his dream castle for he and his wife?
We all have dreams.
My heart goes out to grandpa.
And I feel encouraged that by practicing Buddhism in the SGI, I am changing not only my own karma, but also of my family.
Grandpa, may you feel fullfilled and happy. Keep building your dreams, where ever you are.
Wow Lynette-what a beautiful comment-you are so right-we are able to shift our family destiny, and you are so right that we often have one perception of a person, but later from a different vantage point-we see another aspect of a persons heart, love, leslie
ReplyDeleteThank you for your reply, Leslie. I am hungrily awaiting your next blog post! :)
ReplyDeleteHow are you doing, my friend?
Love, Lynette
author of the novel, Lucy Plays Panpipes for Peace
Hi- I have been sick the last few weeks...getting better , Yea!!!!!! will be blogging again this weekend, love you for caring!!!!love, leslie
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