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Random Acts of Kindness
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Week Two Discussion
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Nicole is still my favorite, although I must admit that I didn't like her alerting Pauline to come to airport security to find Claire. But then, again, I would have been tempted to do the same thing if a sister of my friend with cancer had come half way across the country to locate the sister. OK, so arranging for them to meet was micro-managing, but I, too, would want them to talk at least. I think Nicole redeems herself on that one when she, in the end, sides with Claire and helps her finish her journey. In the first chapters,I was not concerned for Claire, sympathetic, but not concerned. She seemed to have made peace with her cancer and decided how she wanted to handle the remainder of her life, but now I am concerned for her. She really seems to be running away now. Just going back to dive off a rock, seemed a bit childish to me, so I knew there had to be something more to it; but the hints in these chapters that her motive might be dark and self-destructive was a surprise to me. (Nice twist or did I read that too quickly?)
Yeah, Jenna! Yes, I knew her meeting with hubby would not have the ending she hoped for, but she HAD to go back and confront him. I am surprised that Nic and Claire tried to talk Jenna OUT of going back. I was momentarily disappointed with her when she agreed that she and hubby should be together before talking with Zoe. Thank goodness she came to her senses!
Things are coming together like my gut felt they would. I have a dear friend whose sister has been battling stage four cancer and going in and out ofchemo and remission for five years. I am seeing the symptoms, and thing don't look good. but I feel that at this point, each person should be allowed to face what is to come in their own way and the best of friends and family are there to support, not order and direct according to their own perceived agenda of what is best.Jenna, so meek and just letting them throw it at you. I t is time to step up and become more than passive and just get plain aggressive and fight for the love of your daughter. Going to see her at camp a week early is a great start. Now to get in.
Nicole. you are better and stronger than you give yourself credit for. the only thing that stand in your way is self-confidence. Just because Noah has an issue that is beyond your pervue, doesn't mean you are a failure. Your strengths just lie somewhere else. This is when you rely on the knowledge and strength of others. Just be a mom here and love your son. he's talking to you. Listen....don't miss the opportunity.
Yes, Nicole has continued to grow on me, though like Edie mentioned, I wasn't too happy when she contacted Pauline. I think now we are beginning to see the other side of Nicole. Actually, I think we have now seen two sides of all the characters---a stronger side of Jenna, yet Claire, as strong as she may be, has shown some weakness. I think this is why the book is so genuine.
I'm glad Jenna confronted her husband. Now she knows the whole truth and she can focus on the days ahead. It won't be easy, but she seems to be headed in the right direction.
Here are a couple of quotes I like:
"Sometimes, you had to hold up an old goal like a lantern to guide the way--even if it brought you someplace you didn't know you were going."
"Maybe she'd spent the last eighteen months trying to hack her way through a jungle with a steak knife when instead she should have nudged a clear path through the trees."
I'm glad Jenna confronted her husband. Now she knows the whole truth and she can focus on the days ahead. It won't be easy, but she seems to be headed in the right direction.
Here are a couple of quotes I like:
"Sometimes, you had to hold up an old goal like a lantern to guide the way--even if it brought you someplace you didn't know you were going."
"Maybe she'd spent the last eighteen months trying to hack her way through a jungle with a steak knife when instead she should have nudged a clear path through the trees."
remember the old adage "You can't see the forest for the trees."? I think this is definitely an issue with Nicole.
Nicole hasn't really grown on me any more as the book has progressed, and I feel that it was a betrayal of a sort to be in contact with Claire's sister Pauline without her knowledge. I feel she should of been true to her friends wishes. And Jenna, oh sweet Jenna. When I read that she was going to go back to confront her Husband to save her marriage I was saying to her "Don't beg him" He's not worth it, turns out he was even worse than I thought. It certainly brought back feelings of my own ex and him dumping me the day I got out of hospital after pretty extensive surgery. I feel that Jenna will grow and become a better parent out of all that has happened.
And Claire, well half the time I think she has her head in the clouds looking for rainbows than really thinking about what's going on. Having helped nurse someone with cancer, I can understand her perspective on Treatment. Sometimes it comes down to "Quality" not "Quantity" of life. But I think her chances seem somewhat good. And family always only want the best for you.
Something that has crossed my mind as the book gets further along is that I don't feel that they have the close friendship between one another as I first thought they did.
Ang from OZ wrote: "Something that has crossed my mind as the book gets further along is that I don't feel that they have the close friendship between one another as I first thought they did."
Interesting thought, Ang! I think at first they were driven by the memories of their high school days. Now perhaps the reality of all their situations is sinking in and the fact that they haven't remained real close all those years in between is coming into play.
Interesting thought, Ang! I think at first they were driven by the memories of their high school days. Now perhaps the reality of all their situations is sinking in and the fact that they haven't remained real close all those years in between is coming into play.
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Edie thanks for your comments on this part I so agree with you about Claire I didn't at first know how sick she really was, but then I guess she either didn't want us to know or she was and is in denial.
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Oh Karen, my thoughts and prayers to your friend and yes I agree that we "should" let every sane adult decide his or her own path.
But I wonder in Claire's sister's position would we or would we like they try to do everything in their power to save her.
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TarHeelGirl, thanks for the great comments. Nicole is starting to grow on me too and I'll be posting my answers soon.
Love your quotes too!!
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Oh Susan, My heart goes out to you and I have a straw doll waiting for your exes likeness :)
Luckily I have never experienced this but I was like many of you were screaming at Jenna NOOOOOOOO!
Thanks for your comments and sharing something painful with us
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Ang, thanks for your honesty about your feelings for Nicole. I LOVE that!
And your revelation about not being close. I never thought they were in the past, I mean they haven't seen each other in over 10 years.
Something more to discuss and I think it's a perfect mid-week question so stay tuned :)
I hope the weather isn't too cold this week
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https://www.goodreads.com/group/13377...
Great job Karen!!
Hey ladies, so great to see your responses after the rather tumultuous middle third of the book! And now that you've passed that section, I can tell you the story of how I came up with Claire's story/dilemma ... some of you may have already heard this story, as I revealed in blogs and on my Facebook page when the book first came out. But I'll repeat it here just in case.
A few weeks before I got married, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Not wanting to worry me so close to the date, she didn't say a word to me until weeks after my wedding, long after I'd come home from my honeymoon, when she'd already had a mastectomy. I understand now that she'd committed a very generous act of kindness, though at the time I was devastated. I was further concerned because my mother intentionally chose NOT to have chemotherapy. Needless to say, this was a controversial decision in my family, but nothing I said could change her mind. It took many years (and a few more experiences with cancer among friends) before I began to understand the importance of respecting a person's own choices when it comes to medical care in possibly terminal situations. Fortunately, it worked out well for my mother, who is now a 25-year survivor. I may have felt differently if it hadn't worked out that way.
So when it came time to write RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS, I knew I absolutely had to include such a situation in the novel -- both my mother's controversial decision, as well as her personal act of kindness. And so Claire was born.
And that's the reason why I dedicated the book to my lovely mother.
Thank you for sharing that story Lisa
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Debbie wrote: "Ang from OZ wrote: "Nicole hasn't really grown on me any more as the book has progressed, and I feel that it was a betrayal of a sort to be in contact with Claire's sister Pauline without her knowl..."The weather has been warmer this week, as we've had some cloud cover. No rain though. It doesn't rain much here in winter and the grass is brown and crunchy! Glad you appreciate my honesty, straight as a fence post I am (as the saying goes), and its not that I dislike Nicole as a character I just don't like her as much as Jenna and Claire.
That really was an act of kindness and bravery on her part, Lisa, and I understand that part of you must have been angry with her, too. ". . .Fortunately, it worked out well for my mother, who is now a 25-year survivor.. . ." So--is that a hint that Claire's story will also turn out well? I hope so!
I went for more personal (obscure) quotes in part one, so here's my more obvious choice for part two: ". . .it's in those most troubled times . . . where the seeds of happiness are sown." I've always believed that idea--when I'm not in the troubled times. In the midst of the troubled times, it's harder to believe.
One of the nicest turns of events in these chapters is the fun pictures and commentary that the girls are now sending Paulina for the blog. I am so glad that Paulina is getting closer to supporting Claire's choice of how to live her life. And I think Nicole played a huge part in making that happen. [Just had to give another shout-out to my girl, Nicole ;)]
At this point I feel Jenna has changed the most in my eyes. In the first section she seemed more timid to me, running away when things got tough. In this week's reading, I saw a whole new side to Jenna. She seemed more in control of her life, instead of the situations in her life controlling her. It took real guts to go back to her husband, who she knew was cheating on her, to try and work things out for Zoe even though she knew it may not work out. I have a soft spot for Jenna now and see her as a much stronger person.I was shocked to learn Nicole had been staying in touch with Paulina and a part of me questioned her loyalty to Claire. The more I read on though, I came to think of her as being helpful. Claire's sisters were worried about her and who wouldn't be worried if it were their sister? Things needed to be said between them and in the end, Paulina was able to give Nicole warning signs to look out for and Nicole and Jenna were able to give the sisters positive news to put up on the cancer blog.
Earlier I had a suspcion that Claire might be hiding something that made her want to go on this trip, but I had no idea what that might be until reading this section. Claire seems to know what she wants to do about her treatment, especially after seeing her sister go through the same thing, so I don't think she's using the trip to avoid treatment. In chapter 18 when Claire was meditating with Jenna and Nicole, she was concentrating on the strength of her spine, the ease of her breath, knowing there would come a time when those things would leave her. I get the sense that she is trying to cram in as many memories of herself feeling well and happy as she can, in case the worst would happen.
When Jenna made the decision to go home and try to work things out with Nate, every fiber of my being was screaming, no! I thought she was crazy to want to work things out with Nate after he had cheated on her. And then to learn he was expecting a child with the other woman. That would be enough for anyone to go into hiding. From what we've learned of her past, when big things happen in her life, Jenna runs away. So, I was unbelievably proud of Jenna for dealing with the situation right away by hiring a lawyer to help her sort things out and then really glad to see her resume the trip with her friends.
Here are some of my favorite quotes this week:"You're a hang glider susceptible to a well-placed gust of wind." (pg. 113)
"Well, Claire snores, and, Nicole, you steal covers like an anaconda twisting around its prey." (pg. 115)
"The news was a ghoul they draped in blinking Christmas lights." (pg. 126)
"This was the problem with goals, Claire thought. Once accomplished, they were chased by disappointment." (pg. 188)
Lisa, thanks for sharing the story about your mother.
Also, I assume you must like baseball. Are you a Cubs fan?
Also, I assume you must like baseball. Are you a Cubs fan?
"The news was a ghoul they draped in blinking Christmas lights." (pg. 126)April, I love this!
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;)
Thanks Edie!
love the quote
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April, thanks for the great comment
me too on both
being surprised at Nicole's "betrayal" and to screaming at Jenna from my book :)
And love the quotes too!
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My feelings haven't and in fact with Nicole's action in this section I wanted to head thump her a number of times and was screaming at her to clean up her own mess before she tried solving someone else's.
Claire's dealing with her problems by running away from them and the people who are trying to help her, yet maybe if they had tried not smothering her she wouldn't have felt the need to escape.
Jenna, Jenna, Jenna what were you thinking running home to try to put the pieces of this broken marriage back together especially with the snake named Nate.
My favorite quote will have to wait until tomorrow because I took the book home last night LOL
Great discussion everyone!
Lisa, what a beautiful story. I understand so dearly the emotional roller coaster that you and your family went through and am so thankful that your mother's choice turned out so well.Support and Love are so important during these times and so many times we think or try to do something otherwise, out of love and kindness. but what we NEEd to do is just be there and listen , support, love and follow their lead.
Hope you enjoy the song. I stumbled across it and had a laugh....made me think of our friends.
Any, I'm glad you are seeing some warmer weather. We got a break in the heat. low 80s this week.
@ TarHeelGirl00 -- Being born in Massachusetts means I'm a Red Sox fan right down to the marrow of my bones. But I have a particular affinity for the Cubs -- those loveable losers -- because until 2004, the loveable losers were the Red Sox. I'd just die to be in Chicago the year they win the World Series . . . Right now the Red Sox are so abysmal that I'm considering rooting for the Cardinals. (Just for you, Deb. Just for you.) ;)@ Karen -- that song was PERFECT! It made me laugh. I can so see the girls listening to that as they drive thru Kansas.
My goodness, you ladies pick out such great quotes that I forgot I wrote them. !!!! I'm loving reading all your comments -- I'm so deep in another book right now that it's such a gift to rise out of it and remember everything that happened to Claire & Nicole & Jenna!
Lisa wrote: "@ TarHeelGirl00 -- Being born in Massachusetts means I'm a Red Sox fan right down to the marrow of my bones. But I have a particular affinity for the Cubs -- those loveable losers -- because until..."
I read the part out loud to my husband where you mentioned the history of the Cubs and we both agreed that you had to be a baseball fan! We both are too, except we're Cincinnati Reds fans.
I read the part out loud to my husband where you mentioned the history of the Cubs and we both agreed that you had to be a baseball fan! We both are too, except we're Cincinnati Reds fans.
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Thanks Lisa but hold your fandom off a bit because the Cards are self-destructing so the second season is in question here too!
For the rest of you Lisa and I had a little bet going on last year when the Cardinals and Red Sox were in the world series together
The link is below if you'd like to see it
http://thereadingfrenzy.blogspot.com/...
Susan wrote: Clarie wanting to face her fear about a rafting trip maybe her saying "If I can face my fear of this than I can face my fear of the treatment""I love what you said here. I never thought about it that way before. Thanks for the insight!
I have no idea about baseball, the sport isn't big in Australia!!! We are NRL Footy people over here in OZ.
Debbie wrote: "TarHeelGirl00 wrote: "Lisa wrote: "@ TarHeelGirl00 -- Being born in Massachusetts means I'm a Red Sox fan right down to the marrow of my bones. But I have a particular affinity for the Cubs -- tho..."
Thanks for sharing the link--that was pretty cool! As far as the Cardinals, well they have owned the Reds this season, but hopefully the Reds are closing in!
Thanks for sharing the link--that was pretty cool! As far as the Cardinals, well they have owned the Reds this season, but hopefully the Reds are closing in!
Ang from OZ wrote: "I have no idea about baseball, the sport isn't big in Australia!!! We are NRL Footy people over here in OZ."
That's funny. I had to ask my husband what NRL Footy was!
That's funny. I had to ask my husband what NRL Footy was!
Susan, don't you guys call Gridiron, Football over there? Our football is different over here, its also called Rugby League. I go for the "Melbourne Storm", mainly because their team colours are purple and because I think one of their players is cute :)
TarHeelGirl00 wrote: "Ang from OZ wrote: "I have no idea about baseball, the sport isn't big in Australia!!! We are NRL Footy people over here in OZ."That's funny. I had to ask my husband what NRL Footy was!"
NRL stands for National Rugby League :) Funny how different countries are big on different sports!!
@ Any, and I thought footy ball was soccor. lol. I forgot about the third kind of Foote ball. lol
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here's my favorite quote for the week
In chapter 13
Claire and Nicole in the laundromat
"The point I'm trying to make in my backass kind of way" Claire said, "is that I think we are who we are, no matter how much we try to change. Jenna will always be an introvert, no matter how well she adapts .... And as for you" Claire gave her an affectionate bump. "inside, you're always going to be that girl giving the softball team a pep talk"
Debbie wrote: "I just LOVE this conversation!!! :)
here's my favorite quote for the week
In chapter 13
Claire and Nicole in the laundromat
"The point I'm trying to make in my backass kind of way" Claire said, ..."
Oh yeah, I loved that too! I love Claire's expressions!
here's my favorite quote for the week
In chapter 13
Claire and Nicole in the laundromat
"The point I'm trying to make in my backass kind of way" Claire said, ..."
Oh yeah, I loved that too! I love Claire's expressions!
I have to share a "random act of kindness" story. My husband and I were in Taco Bell and all of a sudden, he races to the door. A lady had several bags and drinks, and he held the door open for her. When he got back to the table, he said, "I'm not even reading the book, but just hearing you talk about it has gotten me under conviction!"
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Awe TarHeelGirl, that is the best thing I heard today and I'm posting this on both my personal FB Page and my Community The Reading Frenzy Page
Thank you for sharing this great Random Act Of Kindness
TarHeelGirl00, That story about your husband is wonderful! What a lucky woman you are! <3 <3 <3
Deb and Lisa, glad you liked the story!
I love it when the hubbies buy into our discussions. even if it is peripheral my.
I actually help a little tiny Grandma with her shopping yesterday. She said what a lovely young lady you are! I always hold doors for people when coming and going from a store. Can't say that everyone does it though, I've had doors slam in my face numerous times because I thought someone would hold it for me but didn't. And Tarheelgirloo, your husband is a keeper :)
How many times do we all do small acts of Kindness without thinking about it or even cataloging to ourselves that we have done something extra? it is who we are, therefore we don't think about it, either in the act or after.
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I think you're right Karen, to most of us it's just ingrained as to how we were raised.
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Ready to go!! Have a good weekend everyone. Saturday night in OZ for me. I'm off to watch the new Transformers Movie!!
This read has been great to date. I look forward to the last section.
Well our three ladies are well on their journey, whether its to or from something we’ve yet to decide. Right?
As always please use this as a starting point and please bring up anything that you want to talk about that isn’t mentioned.
Lets get going on week two!
So now that you know more about our characters have you changed your feelings about anyone?
Nicole finally discloses her “problem” and feels that as a therapist she should have been able to do more for Noah. Yet she can’t seem to stop “helping” others, like telling Pauline where to find Claire and contacting Nate.
Is she just being helpful or is she micro-managing the others to make up for her failings within her own family?
Lets talk a little about Claire’s method of dealing with her problems.
In your opinion up to this part is she using this trip to avoid treatment or is this really just a well needed escape for a little while?
Jenna has made two huge decisions this week; one was to go home to stop the divorce for Zoe’s sake.
What was your gut reaction to this?
Don’t forget to mention your favorite quotes too!