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Ever feel like your life was living you instead of the other way around? For Karen Sommerfield, a high-powered executive, the hectic pace of her everyday world insulated her from the disappointments and hurts in her life. And then one day her job was gone.
A cancer survivor, Karen had just come from a doctor's visit where there is some question that her illness might be returning, but she chooses to defer confirming diagnosis until after a budget meeting at work. To add insult to injury, the budget meeting announces deep cuts in personnel, her job included. Reeling with the shock, Karen goes home and loses herself playing the piano, not sure what to do next, and then the phone rings. Her sister invites her 'home' to meet some long lost relatives. Home is normally the last place Karen wants to go, with memories of being not good enough and pressures to be perfect, but in this moment of failure and with the dark cloud of cancer hanging over her once more, Karen opts for the comforts of a family she has long held at arms' length.
THE LANGUAGE OF SYCAMORES isn't a book to race through to find out what happens next. It's more like a visit with an old friend that you want to savor and hold onto for as long as you can. A good example of the purpose driven life, it reminds Karen Sommerfield of her priorities and redirecting her talents into a more satisfying journey along life's path. This is one to share with your sisters and your best friends. I'm looking forward to reading more from Ms. Wingate.
Reviewed by Karla Brandenburg
for The Road to Romance
April 15, 2005
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