Many of my friends are parents, and my recommendations list does have a few children’s books on it. However, the lessons contained within them, as well as the beautiful stories that they convey can certainly be enjoyed by adults just as well. I admit that I cry quite easily, but I can honestly say that this book made me tear up and cry more than any other book on my recommendation list so far. It’s is a story about acceptance, love, and growth, and it really tugged at my heartstrings.
Recommendation #33 from Katie Cummings
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Wonder, written in 2012, was also made into a move about a year ago (November 2017). Focusing on August Pullman and his family and friends, it tells the story of August who is growing up with a medical condition that makes him appear very different from other children. After years of home-schooling, his parents decide it is time to go school as a 5th grader. He faces bullying and mistreatment, while also discovering friendship and camaraderie. The story weaves in and out with various other points of view as well (his sister, his friends, his sister’s friends)
I found myself crying so often, because the experiences and realizations that August has are the same ones I have experienced in my life, and most people experience. After all, he is growing up, something we all do as humans. But to re-experience those lessons through his life and eyes is moving, emotional, and uplifting.
I won’t go into any other details about the story, but I want to include a list of precepts that are given to August monthly by his teacher Mr. Browne. Mr. Browne is that teacher in your life who inspired you, the teacher who made you want to work harder and be better with the things they said and did. The precepts resonated with me, and I hope they can help you think about your life here on earth: how you spend your time, what you think about, and what’s truly important.
Mr. Browne’s Precepts
SEPTEMBER
“When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.”
Dr. Wayne Dyer
OCTOBER
“Your deeds are your monuments.”
Inscription on an Egyptian tomb
NOVEMBER
“Have no friends not equal to yourself.”
Confucious
DECEMBER
“Fortune favors the bold.”
Virgil
JANUARY
“No man is an island, entire of itself.”
John Donne
FEBRUARY
“It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.” James Thurber
MARCH
“Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much.”
Blaise Pascal
APRIL
“What is beautiful is good, and who is good will soon be beautiful.” Sappho
MAY
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.”
John Wesley’s Rule
JUNE
“Just follow the day and reach for the sun!”
The Polyphonic Spree
Just as August’s story tells of a school year, this blog is telling the story of my year of healing: a deliberate time I’ve taken to rest, learn, and grow from my break-up and divorce. A time spent in my hometown and halfway across the world, a time spent adventuring, reading, writing, and praying, a time spent mostly alone. But by learning to love myself and be satisfied in the current moment, I discover more ways to love the world and people around me. Wonder was one of those discoveries, and I urge you to check it out if you haven’t already done so. Even if you don’t have time to read it, give the movie a try!
Thanks for reading. Today’s song comes from a movie called Littlefoot, which I saw with some kids back in November. It appears on this month’s ReEstablished Spotify playlist. It talks about the WONDERful life we have here on this planet. Because a life full of wonder truly is a wonderful life.