It was March of 2020. We UMaine students were struggling to wrap our minds around the concept of a deadly pandemic and more specifically what it would mean for us. Would we be able to return after March break? We were devastated when we got the news and had so little time to adjust. Some people had no place to go. Some did not have the technology or know how to manage the transition. We were saying goodbye to friends we might never see again.
There were people, though, who had it a lot worse, having to fear not only a pathogen with no vaccine and its devastating impact on daily life, but those mandated to serve and protect. Georgia K. Boone brings this vividly to life in her highly engaging When We Almost Came Undone.
"...It's [texting] distracting me from the fact that that I'm at home right now instead of at the hospital, where I should be. Where we should all be, pacing and biting our nails, and waiting for my other sister, Mel, to wake up. We can't, though, because we're in the middle of an unpredictable hellscape with a mysterious sickness that no one's heard of before...The infection lurks like a bandit in the night, ready to take over our lungs and suffocate us as we sleep."
Tia, Boone's narrator, on top of having to cope with the probability of her high school graduation and first year of college being virtual, may very well lose her sister. Mel is in a medically induced coma because of an attempted suicide by overdose. The doctors don't know if she'll ever wake up. Her parents, needless to say, are distraught at the prospect of losing their middle child. Tia notices her parents covertly watching her, maybe wondering...but depression isn't something her family talks about.
Tia also isn't getting along with her long time best friend, Drew. He accuses her of being apathetic because she won't accompany him to all the Black Lives Matter protests.
"Does it suck that an unarmed man was killed by police officers? One hundred percent. Does it suck that, like me, this dude was Black, which exactly no one should be shocked by? Also, one hundred percent. But he's not the first, and not the last, and I don't really have the energy."
When her oldest sister, Alexis, the most centered of the three siblings, invites Tia for a visit it seems like a most welcome reprieve, even though Alexis is over the moon over her new pandemic puppy and Tia is no fan of canine companions--especially when, shortly after her arrival she falls in love with a beautiful girl who seems to reciprocate her feelings.
But Tia can't shake the questions lingering in her mind. Will Mel recover? Might she try again and succeed? Will she and Drew ever recover their friendship? Is Colby too good to be true?
On a purrrsonal note, last Wednesday was a truly blessed day with purrrfect weather. It was my 37th wedding anniversary. Eugene left me a beautiful card and a Batman Squishmallow. The vigil went well with a good turnout and high energy and 182 honks. I get some good bargains at the thrift shop. Eugene took me out for dinner at Applebee's. At home we ate molasses cake that I'd baked in the morning. Later he gave me money for the Readathon. The next evening when Bailey came over to pay her sponsorship she gave me extra money from Cam. When my last sponsor pays up I'll be only $10 away from $700!!!
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene, my one and only soul mate with whom I hope to have many more years together.
Jules Hathaway
Sent from my Galaxy
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