Tiffany Painter

Sometimes when I’m approaching an intersection and the light suddenly changes, for or against me, I wonder what would have happened if it hadn’t changed. Would I have gotten in an accident? Did I avoid an accident? Did the change for me ripple out and change something for someone else? You can see when you start down this rabbit hole, you can be here for a while. The idea of a parallel life where subtle changes could lead you someplace completely different intrigues me. I’ve seen movies (Sliding Doors) and musicals (If/Then) about this, but now I’ve read a book that shows three completely different lives if one change is made. The Names by Florence Knapp is the perfect book if you ever get stuck down the hole wondering ‘what if.’ It starts out with a woman registering the name of her new born son and what happens to the boy and his family based on the name he is given. I was worried going in that the story would be rather flat and just the name itself would change everything, but it isn’t. Rather than focusing on the what, it’s about the why. That always makes a more interesting discussion. Cora has to decide if she is going to follow her husband’s expectation that the child be named after him, her daughter’s desire to give her baby brother a name that describes him, or a name that she likes that offers her son hope for a better future. The reader needs to be warned the husband is abusive to Cora. This puts additional pressure on her decision. The book is told in sections that jump every seven years. Each section has three chapters told from the storyline of each name. The reader gets to see how Cora’s decision plays out over 35 years. That one moment impacted the lives of so many characters. I hope you can find a copy of this book and get lost in the what ifs Knapp has so brilliantly created. I’m going to be happy with my decision and not wonder what I’d be thinking about if I had picked up a different book to read.

7/23

someone has their ducks
all in a row on the dash
directing the ride

7/26

peeking around trees
morning light beckons me
through the wispy clouds

8/1

giant wish waiting
to take flight with secret hopes
carried in the breeze

8/2

devoted to change
hard work combined with sharp teeth
shifting river’s flow