First Reads: It Made Me Cry

I was thinking tonight about the important books in my life.  I'm a voracious reader, and a novel has always been my best escape to relaxation.  But there have been some really important books over the years that stand out and moved me beyond just a good story.  So this little entry is about the first read that brought me to tears.

I was 12 or 13.  It was summer in California.  We were living in my grandmother's tiny little 3 bed, one bath cabin.  (If you think that sharing one bath between 6 people is fun, well it's just barrels of good times.)  My parents were on furlough.  I was in the awkward stage between girl and woman and that summer was lonely in the foreign(to me) land of Cali.  

So, I curled up on my Gran's unfortunate yellow -with brown roses- couch and I read Where the Red Fern Grows.  I got lost in the world of Billy and Old Dan and Little Ann.  The themes in the book of enduring friendship and sacrifice touched a nerve. When I finished the last page, there were tears in my eyes.  I thought about it for several days afterward, and I think it might be one of the reasons why I still love dogs as much as I do.