“Sometimes heroism is nothing more than patience, curiosity, and a refusal to panic.”

Leif Enger deserves an ode, and based on my track record for odes owed, we best not wait on me. Speaking of shoddy track records, how ‘bout my posting habits of late? Sheesh. Tray’s been doing all the heavy lifting around here and I haven’t heard one peep of a complaint out of her. Have I mentioned she’s my favorite? I’ve spent the past month helping my boy get ready to serve the Lord and the people of Honduras for two years—then the past week sending him off, missing him tremendously, and incessantly refreshing my email for updates. Kinda hinders posting progress. But alas, I’m happy to report he’s arrived safely and is loving every minute of it so far. Whew. Happy boy equals happy mama which hopefully means more productive blogging.

Back to the reason we’re all here: good books. And this, dear readers, is one of the best. If you have yet to read it, may I be so bold as to suggest you pick it up pronto—as in now. You’ll thank me. Profusely. Need further convincing? (I’ll try not to feel insulted.) Here’s what one of my favorite Instagrammers, Kathleen Crowley, posted that immediately inspired me to dust off my own copy for a revisit:

I have this theory that the right book at the right time can change your life. My right book was Peace Like a River, I read it one year after my father died, and in it I found a young girl who loved words, and westerns, and her broken but beautiful family. It is the book I credit most for my love of reading.

Couldn’t have said it better myself. So I won’t. I will say I listened to it this time and Chad Lowe’s narration only adds to the magic. The best news? After 10 long years, Enger just released another novel and it’s exquisite too. Virgil Wander, in the words of one reviewer, “feels mostly like life itself, in all its smallness and bigness, and what it means to live a good one.” That’s what writers like Enger and Ivan Doig do best, isn’t it? So if your heart aches over the loss of Doig like mine does, you’ll find respite to rejoice over in Enger. Here’s hoping he doesn’t take another ten years writing the next one, but if he does, rest assured it will be worth the wait.

Posted by Rachel