Plain Truth

Your baby was born in secret and your father must not find him. If he does, you lose everything you ever had; your family, your religion, your community.

Being a fan of Jodi Picoult, my goal was t finish all th novels she ever wrote.
I started reading with less than enthusiasm cuz it's about a religion community even though I was really curious whr did th baby went t.
But like always, as th story builds on, I couldn't tear myself away from th book. & throughout, I was questioning if a mother would really be able t kill her own son if that's th only way t continue living in her community.
You see, Amish ain't exactly th kinda people who'd accept unwed babies especially w non Amish man.
But whn a person's forced t th edge, I thought that you never know what they'd do just t protect themselves. Just t remain accepted in their community; something that means alot t the Amish.
& I'd been fooled (twice) whn Katie admitted t havin th baby aftr a ONS & whn she admitted t killing th baby. Thn I realized smthg; all th while whn Im reading, I never rlly believed Katie whn she denied killing th baby. I found myself saying see I knew it, she killed her own baby t save her ass!

It's only whn th psychiatrist analyzed & justified that Katie was actually lying did I realize that. & I think that reflects alot on my character. Y'know, so easily & readily t condemn a suspect. Maybe it's got t do w my surrounding? Idk. I just feel that human are a bunch of selfish lot. We r so ever ready t point our fingers @ others whn things so wrong. Ought t reflect on ourselves.

This's th first time I've heard about th Amish. & even wiki abt them, cuz I didn't see th big deal of babies out of wedlock in tday's context. Read up about them & it made me realize that actually ALL human beings should be like th Amish!

Well maybe not so much on th part whr you don't use modern technology. But instead, being truthful & honest. Putting others (family esp) before yourself. If nothing else, I learnt one thing from this book - J.O.Y ie Jesus first, Others before you and Yourself last. Not word for word but ya, you get my drift. Im not Christian, but I thought that was a very nice acronym. Idk if this's rlly wht th Amish parents teach their kids since young, but that's what th novel claimed.
Anwy, th point is, I think human should rlly be like this. You know, not always putting yourself first & only thinking about yourself and wht benefits you. Think about people around you whom you care, think about your religion (if you have) & that'd make you a better person.

I think I've mentioned more than once why I liked JP's novel; cuz of th twist of ending. Always. I dont recall any of her titles (that I've read) that th ending was predictable. & th ending of Plain Truth made me realise how nobel a mother would be nd how they really meant whn they say they'd do anything t protect their kids. Idk, for a moment it did come across as selfishness t me. Th Amish believes in doing what had t be done, and th mother was Amish through & through. She did what had t be done, so that her family could continue living as they are without disturbance. I was overwhelmed by her actions. Shocked, because that's not what her religion would expect of her (Amish r rlly religious) but she did it anyway t protect her family.
Idk if it makes any sense t yall, since yall haven't read th book. Puns r intended btw.

I think every JP novel change me a little. For Plain Truth, it inspires me t want t become a better person. Ought t learn from th Amish. They're no saints, just how human should be at th very beginning of our creation.

The Pact

There was nothing left to say.       He covered her body with his, and as she put her arms around him she could picture him in all his incarnations: age five, and still blond; age eleven, sprouting; age thirteen, with the hands of a man. The moon rolled, sloe–eyed in the night sky; and she breathed in the scent of his skin."I love you,"she said.       He kissed her so gently she wondered if she had imagined it. She pulled back slightly, to look into his eyes.       And then there was a shot.

Can you imagine you love someone so deeply & so much that you can't picture yourself without them?

That whn you close your eyes t see yourself, you never do that without picturing that person right next t you?

Can you imagine you love somebody so much that you're willing to do anything they ask of you? 

Even if it meant murder.

Chris & Em were joined at th hips & from their earliest memory, they always had each other. 

They were each other's other half.

But Em is keeping a secret from everyone. Her family, her friends & even her other half.

So much so that she couldn't stand living & wanted Chris t help her end her life.

Like any other JP's novel, when I was reading The Pact, I was enthralled by th story & couldn't put th book down.

Th fear nd loneliness Chris felt during th 7 months when he was jailed, th way you struggle t go t th funeral of your beloved but you just can't cuz you're suspected of being th murderer, th way you hurt whn you read about Em's sufferings,

th determination Gus had & all she wanted t was t save her son but her husband was not supportive, & th struggle Chris went through before he shot Em. It's like you could feel it. 

Like you could understand & feel how they felt.

You don't really know if Chris shot Em until you finish th book. 

In between here & there, I did wonder. If th person you love deeply was suffering & was begging you t end their suffering, what would you do?

Especially if it meant having them leaving you. I don't know if I'd be strong as Chris.

He loved Em so much that he could bear th pain & sufferings himself, but he could not bear hers.

He knew that saving her would mean killing her but he still did it.

He loved her that much t put her pain before his & stayed behind t be called a murderer, even though all he did

was t relieve his loved one from pain.

Many a time throughout th book, I stopped & wonder if I could do it. I wonder if I could take it, being left behind,

w th scene haunting me & being tried w people calling me murderer even though all I ever wanted was t free my loved one from his pain & agony.

I've read 5 of JP's novel & each time I finish reading one, I'd go into a withdrawal.

Whn I read My Sister's Keeper, I was completely drawn to it. Th impact it left was huge. & I started wondering about many things.

Now that I've finished this (& am about t embark on House Rules), I feel ashamed.

I don't know if I could pull th trigger if my beloved asked me to. I don't know if I would hate him for leaving me behind (not that Chris didn't hate Em for doing that, but he got over it as soon as he had that thought cuz he loved her that much)

It may be as selfish, but I'd rather he be here & I'd suffer his pain w him rather than helping him t die & live as an empty soul.

Love is about being able to put th person before yourself & Chris did that. He overcame his fear of living w/o Em, being called a murderer & put her wish (of dying) as priority & fulfilled her wish.

I love Eric. But my love for him, is not th same as Chris had loved Em. I belong t th selfish clan.

I'm not saying what Chris did was right. In fact, I agreed w his actions. 

But I just don't think I have th courage t do it & I feel weak for my feeling&actions doesn't go together.

Mercy.

你知道男人和女人说谎最大的差别在哪里吗？
男人说谎是要让自己觉得好过, 而女人说谎是要让对方好过。
女人选择欺骗是因为不像伤害深爱的人。
女人不是故意的。
只是没有伤害对方的勇气所以才隐藏真正的答案。

败犬女王

but ripped off from mary's actually.

Allie did at least a hundred things each day simply because of their effect on Cam. They bound him t her: she'd drop his shirts off at th cleaners without being asked, or lay out a bowl of cereal for him before she went t bed so it was there in th morning, or, as in th case of th tea, open herself t teasing just t guarantee an exchange of conversation. She made his life run so smoothly that he never had t wonder about those little details that plague everyone else- like turning th clocks back in th fall, or always having enough milk in th refrigerator, or keeping handy th right size batteries for whatever equipmnet he was fixing. She told herself this was something she wanted t do, a silent promise she's made on her wedding day t th handsome, magnificent man standing beside her. If everyday flowed seamlessly into th next for Cam, he'd never have th reason t wonder, What if?

He handn't done this in three years, but he thought that if he spend every waking minute of th day with Allie, listening t her nd watching her nd only her, he could surely drive Mia Townsend from his mind.

He paused for a moment, cocking his hear. "If I was dying of cancer nd in god-awful pain nd I asked you t kill me, would you do it?"Allie didn't hesitate. "Yes. But thn I'd kill myself, too."Cam's mouth fell open."Because you murdered me?""No" Allie said. "Because you'd be dead."

Mercy
Jodi Picoult

Th last one's something for you t ponder about, I guess.
Mercy, one of th hardest read ever for me. I was practically cringing while reading it.
There's so many ups nd downs, even though I'm just half way through. Initially thought of doing th review after I've finished reading it. But somehow I just couldn't wait. I wanna share th afterthoughts, th fantastic paragraphs (mentioned above).

It felt as though Cam really love Allie with his whole heart, when he was struggling in th water trying t find Allie when she fell off th lil fishing boat. Nd for a moment, forgot that he was actually cheating on Allie with Mia.
It felt so awful when Cam was making love t Mia while his wife is out of town t help his own cousin, when Cam looked at Allie but wishing she was Mia, when Cam tried t provoke Allie so that they could fight nd he could justify his anger (which was twards himself).

It felt so heart warming when Cam hired Graham MacPhee on his own t protect his cousin, Jamie, despite being th prosecutor of his case. But things changed when he comes face t face with Jamie. He was hostile.

You could really tell, that Allie love Cam more than she ever loved anyone. Nd she love Cam more, rather than th other way round. Jamie said, in every relationship, it's hard t balance a 50 - 50. (Which I personally agree!) So when he talked t Allie more, he concluded that Allie nd Cam was a 70 - 30.

Another thing t ponder about:

Is a mercy killer still considered a killer?