The Birthing House

Remember how I said I wanted to go buy Shutter Island? Well, I did! Yes, I actually said I wanted to do something and I went out and did it. Same day and everything! And while I was there at the bookstore, I also found this book, The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom.

When I got home, I thought I'd dive straight into Shutter Island, but I didn't. I just kept thinking about The Birthing House and how it was just calling to me, first in the bookstore and now at the house. So, I sat down and started reading immediately - and I couldn't get past the 6th chapter! I was home alone and it just started freaking me out instantly. I had to wait until the next night when Sidney was with me before I could read any more. And then last night, with Justin here, I managed to finish the entire book. In three evenings! Do you know how wonderful that makes me feel? I hate having to drag out reading a book over weeks or months when I get busy - it's so annoying and makes me pine for days gone by when I could read an entire 300+ page book in one sitting.

But anyways, back to the book. The Birthing House was great - simply great. It was scary and thrilling and a mystery and historical and seductive and just plain awesome. And it was beautifully written - it wasn't just a typical horror story, in my opinion. It was thoughtful and emotional and very deep, so much more than ghosts and things going bump in the night. I want to share my favorite passage from the book, one that I kept fingering back to just to reread because I thought it was just such a gorgeous set of words.

"Whatever you think happiness is, whatever you think it really means to be safe and secure and loved, I can tell you this. It is never more present in us than when we have coveted and loved and risked everything to claim another, and having done so found our equal, having reached the mutual understanding that we want the same thing, and that the thing we want is nothing. Nothing. Not money not fame not cars not houses not artistic greatness not even children, nothing except the person we are mated to, lost and found. This ecstatic mental state so perfectly in tune with our physical design is our home, the only real home we are given a chance to find in this life, the place we are lost, found, safe, forgiven, remade and forged into better men, the home we are forever trying to get back to, the one true birthing house."

Now that you've read it once, go back and read it again. This time, read it like your 9th grade English teacher taught you to read. Pause at the commas, take a breath at the end of each sentence. Emphasize the parts that need emphasizing - just don't read over it, really read it. It's beautiful. A truly beautiful and deep passage.

I encourage all of you to read this book - it's a great mystery with a great story and a great underlying message. Heck, if you really want to read this book but you don't want to buy it, just leave me a comment saying you want to try it out and I'll mail it to you! Kind of like a little book swap (but you don't have to send me anything in return, unless you've got a book you think I need to read). So who wants to read this book? Just let me know!