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 Desperation 
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The Education of Little Tree is the most depressing book I have ever read and "Poison" is a close second. There is a desperation that I find unsettling in these books. The children are desperately trying to hold the family together for their own sake of safety. The mother is desperately trying to remain faithful to a mad man. The father is desperately trying to make up for the fact that he didn't die in the Philippines. I don't enjoy these types of books because they remind me of my desperate struggle to fill some sort of purpose so that I will not fill like I have wasted my life.

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John Parsons


Mon Apr 11, 2005 9:51 am
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John,
I had a hard time dealing with mother in the Poisonwood Bible also. Yet it certainly leant credibility to the book because this co-dependency is so prevalent in our society. When you love someone and they change, I guess you cling desperatly to the hope that the "old person" will return. I hated the fact that someone had to die for her to wake up.

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Kristine Kelley


Mon Apr 11, 2005 6:10 pm
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Looking at the mother in Poisonwood, someone dying was the only way to save the rest of the family. She never would have saw the light. It took a tragedy for change to occur. That is really not that different from the world we live in.

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Kathy Wagoner


Sat Apr 16, 2005 2:32 pm
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I agree with all of you. The desperation in this family reminded me of some of the families that I have dealt with through the years. It always amazes me that a child will cling to a parent, even if that parent has been neglectful or abusive, not wanting to leave. The comfort of what they know is so strong against the unknown. I suppose we are all a little like that???

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Val Myers


Tue Apr 19, 2005 8:09 pm
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Yes the mother was desperate, and we all hated her at the beginning but she ended up kind of being a hero. She finally "saw the light" you might say and tried to compell herself out of a bad situation.


Wed Apr 27, 2005 9:02 am
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John:

You write:

Quote:
I don't enjoy these types of books because they remind me of my desperate struggle to fill some sort of purpose so that I will not feel like I have wasted my life.


I had to respond to this because I know it is so important. Each of the characters in the novel are fulfilling a purpose as each brings his or her unique human struggle to the world.

I believe that it is the struggle itself that matters. We find meaning, lose faith, and find it again. But throughout it all, we choose. We can't live without making choices. I think it is the quality of these choices, and our willingness to choose again and again, each time choosing as best we are able, that reveals our purpose.

If each of us simply chose, as each small opportunity arises each day, to care justly and wholly for ourselves, our communities, and our world, we would not only live a life with deep purpose, we would also create a better world.

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Gayle Turner


Wed Apr 27, 2005 10:00 am
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I felt the mother was desperate as well. I have a hard time understanding staying with someone when my children would be in danger. I can do bad by myself.

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Shawn Clemons
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Wed Apr 27, 2005 12:24 pm
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