The Happy Bookers

Date: 24 May 2015
Location: Joe & Linda

How often does a bookclub have the joy of reading a published work by one of its members?? This was my thought as we were trying to follow Joe’s directions to his home. We were grateful for our iPhone ’s assistance. BUT the directions were wonderfully entertaining – a prelude to our afternoon.

Of course we had already read Joe’s book in manuscript form a couple of years ago. I was immediately struck by the added detail – background on Ann’s family was quite notable. I enjoyed the fleshing out of the main characters. I got to know them better than I had on our first meeting. Joe said that he had added 150 pages to the original manuscript. Reading it again did bring back into focus the main story line of a gentle woman being driven to her breaking point. As Joe noted, the purpose of his sharing this true story was to make the reader realize that we all have a point of no return. In truth, most of us have no idea what our personal breaking point may be.

Well written literature helps us to examine truths in life, to put us in another person’s moccasins so that we are drawn into their footsteps. Joe drew the different paths for us in this book and allowed us to walk in several different directions. We were flies in the room as Job/Joe interviewed Ann’s friends from various stages of her life. We met her daughters, neighbors, Sunday School teacher, school teachers, co-workers and her doctor. We became aware of the long hours of preparation for a trial; how the lawyer’s mind becomes totally absorbed, obsessed by the details, striving to overturn any stone that may hold a modicum of information that will help him understand his client better. Ann wasn’t able to talk to Job, so he had to get information about her in any way he could.

We were also present in the court room as the trial took place, feeling the tension, waiting for the next turn of the case. Had jurors been chosen who would be sympathetic to Ann? How long would each day be? Would the judge let the jurors loose sooner for Christmas or would he insist on closure of the trial first? How strong was the Prosecuting Attorney who wanted to be Governor? What tricks would he try? Did you see the counting of the bullet shells and their sound coming as they were dropped? Could you see that sound’s impact? How would the judge’s final instructions to the jury play out in their deciding the case?

And then Joe shared his memories of the trial. You could see in his face the intensity of the entire experience as he still feels it, as he struggled to answer our probing questions.

Thank you, Joe.

— Gina