Book Review: Leaning Into The Curves

Every day this little old blog of mine gets

hit repeatedly from a certain google search.

Bucket list.

It has to do with this old post of mine.

It seems that everybody has a bucket list.

I know I do.

Funny that one thing I mentioned doing

in that old bucket list post

happened years ago at

The Rose Parade.

I asked a complete stranger for a ride

on the back of his Harley.

Fast Eddie was so sweet to me and graciously obliged.

That trip up and down Rose Boulevard

is one of my fondest memories.

You have to just throw caution to the wind and enjoy life.

It is still on my bucket list to

ride across the country on a motorcycle,

stopping to see all the sites.

Funny that my husband's bucket list

has the same cross-country trip,

but his chosen choice of transportation is an RV.

Someday our dreams will have to be negotiated.

I know this.

That is why I loved this line from Hank

to his loving wife, Molly, in

Leaning Into the Curves:

"The answers I need are right here.

You and me together."

Negotiation isn't a chore

when you have each other.

The jist of the whole book for me was:

when you love someone,

you make it work,

no matter what.

You compromise,

you change,

and communicate,

and you overcome fears,

and choose to trust each other

and love your differences.

Now who can't use a book like that?

Leaning Into The Curves

felt like a real life love story.

That is much preferred by this realist,

over all that impossible romance rhetoric.

The authors, Anderson and Morris,

are obvious pros at this marriage thing.

While reading the book,

I found myself following along on my

own Honda Gold Wing,

touring with the Temple Riders Association,

on a wonderful adventure,

full of charming life-like characters.

It was an extra bonus

that I was also taken through

some marriage counseling, too.

The authors are not just wise

wives, mothers, and grandmothers,

obviously in touch with an array of life challenges,

but they are witty,

and very stealth with their flawless life coaching

through great story telling.

And I know you can all use some

bonus marriage counseling

and life coaching.

Reading this story

was like sitting at the feet

of a beloved grandmother,

where she is effortlessly telling her life stories,

and everything that she says

is exactly what I needed to hear.

Although there are some

disappointing "for Mormon eyes only" references,

I still think even Non-Mormons could

relate and be entertained.

(But what do I know about writing for a specific audience?)

It was a really light and fun read.

And funny. Did I mention funny?

And I am not just saying that because

they sent me a free copy to review.

I would give it a strong 4 stars.

I rarely give out a 5.

Like maybe 10 adult books in the whole universe.

So buy it.

Here.

This would be a great gift for

retired people,

best girl friends you love to walk with,

newly-married people,

motorcycle loving people,

adventurous people,

people with an irrational fear,

people who need to find a hobby,

or people who need to create a bucket list.

And if you are never going to read this book,

do one thing,

get back in touch with your bucket list.

Don't wait until you are retired to enjoy life a little.

I relearned that important truth in the pages of this book.

Oh, and they nailed the end.

I never love the end.

This one was great.

And I was happy for the closure,

which was somewhere between,

"they lived happily ever after"

and

"they loved each other all along".