IMM 4/15/12

Hello, my lovelies! It has been so very long since I have published an edition of In My Mailbox. I am so sorry. First off, I will only include those books I've received in April. Second, I already know you will hate me. Unless you know me and you know where I live because I'm generous with loaning my books. Isn't that right McKayla, Joan, Laura, Julie, and Marcie? Marcie. Give me back my copy of Little Princes! 

I'm not THAT generous.

In no particular order:

Do not judge me because I already have the mantra that the person who dies with the most books wins but I bought a couple of books today that I currently have hidden in the car. I will have to bring them in eventually but people in this household will judge me for adding to my book collection.

So I I've already read most of Paul Cardall's book. He started a blog and I became a serious, stalkaholic. Truly, I feel like I could run into Paul at the store and chat like we're the very best of friends and he'd be incredibly creeped out, I'm sure. This blog had me utterly and completely addicted. It had me sobbing many, many days. It was beautiful and heartbreaking yet so full of hope.

I don't even know how I stumbled across Paul's blog but I knew his name as a musician. What I didn't know is that he had a rare heart condition where he was born with only two ventricles. He received a life saving surgery as a child but, nearing his fortieth birthday (I think he was 37), his heart was worn out. He stopped giving concerts and was monitored closely. He was a horrible candidate for a heart transplant yet he still prayed he'd get one. He wrote his blog for his young daughter, Eden. He called it Living For Eden.

Okay, so I just took a quick peek at the blog again and there's a new post. I erupted in tears again.  Really, I must stop.

If you want to have a visceral experience, go read this blog. Better yet, read the book as it is much more succinct. I checked it faithfully, particularly when he was hospitalized and said goodbye in so many touching ways. I watched for the post by someone else to let his stalkers know he'd passed away. In the meantime, a twist of irony occurred. Paul's brother was hit with a taser in Southern Utah during a psychotic episode. It stopped his heart and he died. Now the Cardall family lived on with broken hearts, as one son died senselessly while waiting for another son's heart to stop. Finally, the day came when his wife wrote the post. I won't tell you what it said but I'll give you a visual hint.

 
and

And I will end on that uplifting note.