"Life is easy, all we have to do to live it, is breathe."
"Time passes at a constant rate. It never changes. A second is always a second. Sixty of them make a minute, and sixty minutes make one hour.
Always.
Our perception of the passage of time, however, changes. I believe when I am anxious of the arrival of a particular event, time seems to pass very slowly. If I allow myself to become consumed by smaller events preceding the larger event, time seems to pass more quickly.
In short, I have concluded thinking - or reasoning - creates the illusion of time passing slowly. Mindlessness allows us to fly through the days and nights as if they never existed. One may stand to reason, and I certainly do, that a thoughtful person lives a lifetime equal to three or four of that of a mindless couch potato."
Life.
As humans we have perfected going through the motions of this our so called life. Most days, we attempt to convince ourselves that we are happy, that we are content. Some of us believe in gratitude, a few of us even live each day thankful. We pretend that the numbness and the complacency that we feel are normal, and that this is what we are supposed to do. What forces one to start living? What forces one to start allowing themselves the opportunity to live? What would you do if you had a proverbial remote control for your life? Would you choose to rewind or fast forward through certain events? Would you choose to stop it at some point? Would you press pause to slow things down and have the ability to reevaluate the life that you are living? What we don't understand is that each of us already holds that remote in our hand. That remote comes to us in the form of choices. The choices that we make each and every day.
In the novel Finding Parker by author Scott Hildreth, we are being shown the value of living life in the now. This amazingly heartfelt love story isn't just about the love of two people, it's about love in it's purest form. The love of family and the love of self. The life lessons presented in this book are numerous, you just have to absorb them. Some of them are screaming at you, but the important ones are the ones that will surface as you are turning the page or even days later. The miracles manifested on the pages of this book, are the lessons between words.
I have read all of Mr. Hildreth's books, and have enjoyed each of them for different reasons. What draws me to his work is his ability to be tuned in to each and every one of his readers, in a way that most writers aspire to achieve. Most of us read a book because of a plot we think sounds intriguing, and our love and support of said author. I've stated publicly that I will read anything written by this man because of those very reasons, but for me, it's so much more. Scott's writing has the ability to tap into things we don't understand within ourselves. He manages to infuse into his stories bits and pieces of all of us. Everyone gets something entirely different from each of his books. He never fails to knock me to my knees and cause me to think about my life, my being, my worth, and my hopes and dreams. Every single time. He causes me to revisit and revise. He breaks me, and not at all in a bad way. He breaks me so that I can pick up each of my pieces, dust them off, and reassemble my life and myself into a better version of me. That? That, is amazing talent.
This novel presents us with four individuals, each of them looking for an angel without realizing that they are doing so. Each of them finding their angel in themselves and in each other. Parker is a gentleman, first and foremost. He has integrity, and values, and morals, and ethics. He is complicated, yet he really isn't, he's actually quite simple. Victoria is an independently strong woman who knows that sometimes life just "unravels." It does, and it has for her, and yet she is the epitome of grace and courage. Kenton is a man who hasn't always lived a life that he's been proud of, yet he has no regrets, and wants to embody every second of the moment, and all of the joy that moment holds. Downes, ah... Downes, an under played character in my opinion that brings so much to this story. He's a man of loyalty and honor. He's a silent hero. These characters form an unconventional family, but a family in it's truest form. Once again, showing us that family doesn't have to be blood related. A family is simply about love. A family is made up of people who love unconditionally. Treat everyone with respect and kindness, you don't know why they've appeared in your life and what you are supposed to learn from them. You never know if that person is your angel.
This work isn't anything like any of the author's previous books. I admit that as I started reading, I found myself thinking, wow… Mr. Hildreth's writing has matured. It wasn't his writing, it was the fact that he had taken on mature gentlemanly role models and wrote them impeccably. Impeccably. So for that, I go on record with an apology. I was wrong in my first assessment. I should have known better. Scott did a perfect job of bringing the complexities of theses charters to life. This story? This story is beautiful. It is truly a love story. In so many ways. I challenge anyone who has taken the time to read this review to read it. You will get from it exactly what you as an individual needs at that moment. It will speak to your soul. It will leave a smile on your heart. You will be forever changed. You will find a better version of you because of it.
"The value of a person's life is measured by the amount of people they touch living it."
This book teaches us that maybe it's not about the ending. Maybe it's really about the journey. What do you want your journey to be? What stops do you choose to take along the way? You have that choice. Do you want to rewind or fast foreword, or do you just want to slow it down? We have the remote controls for our lives. Make the choices that empower you to live the life you you want. How do you choose to spend your time traveling the road map of your so called life?
Think about it.
"With swollen eyes and a heart filled with warmth, I dedicate this novel to my father.
Pops this one is for you."