Two young women drive out of the city with big plans for a weekend with friends. Halfway there the car breaks down on a bridge, they are crushed in a collision that follows, and life holds its breath. In Everything Alive, Molly Johnsen maps a constantly surprising journey through recovery in a poetic journal. Along the way she encounters memories, physical pain, mind games, family ties and the big warm hug of love.
At first, there are the facts of her injuries and the reach of her thoughts. Parents linger near her hospital bed and in long-ago memories. A self-portrait begins to appear as we see the strength and fears of a little girl become building blocks for a grown but shattered woman. Johnsen proves to be a master storyteller.
After staring death down, after the continuing assault of medical procedures, after struggling to revisit the accident in therapy, love happens. In "Alone Together," without warning, life begins again. Even as moonlight triggers a flashback of the night on the bridge, the mood is shifting. Romance - or at least the possibility - emerges in a most unlikely setting. Things move quickly. The outlook is uncertain, but the sky has brightened.
Then, with a jolt, comes a section called "Epilepsy." Johnsen has a gift for conjuring painful experience in a beguiling way, and here she does it by talking directly to her tormentor. There is no anger, no pity in her voice, just the tale of her own interaction with a legendary foe. We have seen her temper and her anxiety, but here is something different: a humble strength.
The mind steps away from the body: "When asked for the story / I watch myself tell it." While physical injuries heal, the brain hatches all kinds of mischief, pieces of a puzzle. The threat of another seizure looms as a constant pain. Family hurts, too, sometimes.
The parents do the best they can to show love in their way, but it can be a burden. Happy memories leave a hint of loss. A question hovering from the start won't go away: Can this broken body have a baby? Whatever the future, it holds promise: "I'm / more of me now. Bones / strengthen after breaking."
Everything Alive, does not disappoint. There is so much to see. Turn the page and you're in Italy in a boat in a cave. Or, while visiting friends, in conversation with a "bright and round" little boy. Or on a bridge (a bridge!) in Paris for maybe the best moment of all. Each piece of the story is new, vivid and compelling. Brave optimism underlies it all - along with the power of love. Being able to share this crazy beautiful life is a most precious gift, and there is no shortage of gratitude in this book.
Unlikely but true, the worst thing that could happen might turn out to be the best.
Everything Alive can be purchased at: https://tinyurl.com/4ch48ahx
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here