Life Changes Us. It Changes What We Want from Life, and What We’ll Tolerate

A Debut Author’s Opinion

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

Dear Book Reviewer: Human beings are not static. We change, pivot, and grow, and that requires understanding from our partners and friends. But it’s really okay. People do it all the time, and we should. The mere fact that people have the ability to change what they desire from life means that healthy human relationships usually require flexibility. But if we look beneath all of this change, we often find trauma.

Now, not every human we meet is waving a clearly labeled trauma flag — few of us do. Which is why there is a galaxy of wisdom in the quote, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is carrying a heavy burden” (thank you, Reverend Ian MacLaren). Variations of this theme go all the way back to Plato’s, “Be kind, for everyone you know is fighting a hard battle.” All of us should be taught this concept from a young age — when we still possess a natural sense of empathy, before it’s drilled out of us.

The point is, there’s a lot of life beyond our knowing, that impacts the lives of those we meet at the market, or making our drinks at our local coffee shop, and…those who write books intended for casual entertainment, like mine.

Sharp pivot: there’s is a lot of life beyond the words you read on the pages of…