While cleaning out my parents’ condo, I discovered several books. Some needed to be brought back to the library, others belonged to my parents, and then there were two unread books authored by Beverly Lewis.
I remember the phone conversation like it happened yesterday. “Guess who we are going to see?” my mom excitedly asked. Not really knowing, I offered a random guess. “Beverly Lewis is coming to Zeeland!” she answered. The author, well-known, writes adult and children’s books that often take place in Amish areas.
I opened the books to find my name with Beverly’s signature. “To Michelle! Blessings! Beverly Lewis.” I don’t know why it touched me so much. Did my mom always mean to give this book to me and didn’t because of her dementia? I googled the event and learned that the book signing occurred on September 12, 2018, over a year ago.
Even though I am not quite finished reading the book, titled The Road Home, I often stop and wonder if my mom specifically chose this book for me. In many ways, I have traveled the road home this year. This area is my home, although Indiana is my permanent one. I constantly run into people I knew while growing up. The main character in the book, Lena, deals with the unexpected loss of her parents. “Losing Dat and Mamma was never going to be something any of them would just get over. Yet with God’s help, somehow they would eventually move past the deepest, most searing sorrow.” I can hear my mom saying these same things to me. I recall her saying, “At some point, I will not be here any more”. After a pause, she looked me in the eye and said with a nod, “But you will be okay.”
A Journey Worth Remembering 