Title: Let's Take the Long Way HomeAuthor: Gail Caldwell
I often think I could benefit from a little more solitude in my life. It's not as bad as it was a few years ago, when I had babies and toddlers, but with four small children, the only quiet time I get most days is when I'm running or when I'm driving to and from Provo for school. So it was interesting to listen to Gail Caldwell's engaging memoir Let's Take the Long Way Home, which is about two women who sought out solitude in their early adulthood like I sought out kids, and come together when the quiet of their lives is almost more than they can bear.
Gail and Caroline are both authors living in Boston when they meet. They both love dogs, are recovering alcoholics, and live alone. Once they overcome their initial reluctance to let someone else come into their lives, they become the best of friends-- drawn together by similar passions, but also by similar outlooks on life. Caldwell does a fantastic job showing how close the two women become-- they row or swim together in the mornings, call each other from their home offices during the day, then meet together to walk the dogs as the day winds to a close. It's a platonic female friendship that is, in many ways, even closer than a marriage.
Then Caroline, the younger of the two by about a decade, is diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer, and dies within a few months. Gail explores how she handles the grief, and how she manages to continue living once the most intense, rewarding relationship of her life is over.
Caldwell writes beautifully, and I found myself in tears at many points in her narrative. It makes me appreciate the fullness of my life-- one that I can't imagine being lonely at this stage. Reading this book helped me see that there are benefits to solitude, but that a life where someone always wants a seat on my lap is pretty great too.
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