Monday, January 14, 2013

True Confessions of a...

This post can go so many ways...

  • True Confessions of a...mid-twenties fashionista-in-training working on a shoestring budget since grad school student loans have consumed my paycheck. 
  • True Confessions of a...small town girl living in the big city - kickin ass and taking names while wearing pearls and saying y'all like a true Southern Belle.
  • True Confessions of a...former serial-dater turned hopeless romantic thanks to her sweet and nerdy engineer boyfriend - with a secret wedding board on Pinterest (shhhhhh don't tell him)
However. None of these titles quite work for what I'm going for. For once, I'm going to talk about someone other than myself. *GASP* I know. 

One of the things I crossed off my list as of 11pm last night was number 41. Read a book in one day. My choice of reading materials wasn't planned. In fact, I just came off a Gone Girl reading binge (completed the book in under 3 days) and was looking for something a little lighter. Mama Bear to the rescue. 

My mom told me about a book her friend wrote...one that was actually on Amazon (how convenient for me!). So I decided to take the plunge and purchase the $2.99 Kindle Edition. My Sunday night was completely taken up by True Confessions of a Dying Lady: How to Lie and Bribe Your Way Into Heaven. If you're looking for something nice to do for yourself, and for Miss Grety...buy the book. It was such an easy read - plus the stick figure drawings were super cute. Before I knew it, I had finished it!  

So to give a bit of insight without spoiling the book - my mom talks about this Gretchen lady a lot and what a strong woman she is. Not only because she beat cancer (twice so far). But because she has truly embraced her life, and her imminent death. In fact, my mom told me about her book all the way back in October, while at her "Going Away Party" (which was a nice way of saying her Living Wake). At first I was all like, "Ewwwwwww mom. That's so morbid!" But then I was all like, "Dannnnnng. That's pretty genius. You get to have a party with all your besties. They basically get together to talk about how great you are and how loved you are and how much you've touched their lives and how much they'll miss you". It's the ultimate ego boost. It's also something that 99.9% of us will never experience. How many people can really enjoy and embrace something like that? My mom sent me a picture of dear ol' Gretchen at her party - purple boa and cowboy hat with oversized pink shades on having a blast! I commend Gretchen for being strong enough to celebrate her death with grace, charisma, and humor. Which leads me to the following...   

The thing I took away most from reading the book is that when you're faced with a difficult situation (such as calculus, boy drama, or hell...in this case, death) you need to make the most of it. Have a positive attitude. Laugh. Carpe the freaking Diem . We don't know when our last day will be so we should enjoy life a tad more. Appreciate the little things. Celebrate the big moments. Never take for granted the space between (Great DMB reference...I'm patting myself on the back). It takes a lot of courage to write about something so real and so scary and so imminent for us all. For that, I thank you Gretchen. 

FYI, That was your "Life Lessons with Liz" segment for the day. I hope you took something away from it. It would be even better if you happened to click on the link, buy the book, and literally take something away. Hey, it's a shameless plug for a dying lady...how can you NOT buy the book?!? Happy reading, y'all. 

L


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