Page Break, Ben Sasse & What Children Bring

1. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

Our dad book club recently wrapped this one up. It’s part mystery, part historical fiction, but really it’s a story about community, decency, and ordinary people choosing courage when it counts. It took me a looooong time to get into it, but in the end, I thought the slow build was worth the payoff.

2. Fun Idea: Page Break

I loved hearing about Page Break: a group of strangers gathering for a weekend to read a novel aloud together. What a fun, unusual way to experience a book. Maybe a nightmare for some (dreading Gary’s turn with his performative lilting), but it also feels like a meaningful little rebellion against our distracted, screen-filled lives. NYT article here.

3. Podcast/Interview — Ben Sasse on Facing Death

Whew. Ben Sasse’s recent conversation about living with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer moved me. The former Nebraska senator speaks candidly about pain, treatment, faith, and what changes when death is at the doorstep. Whatever you think of him politically, I think there’s real wisdom here worth hearing.

“We are most alive when we’re in love.” — John Updike

“The soul is healed by being with children.” — Fyodor Dostoevsky

What Children Bring

I came across the piece below recently, and I haven’t been able to figure out who to attribute it to. Still, it resonated with me, and maybe it will with you too.

Someday in your thirties or forties,

you will suddenly realize

the best things in life

have already happened.

The rest is just repetition and growing old,

year after year, day after day.

But a child washes away the repetition,

making life unknown once again.

They cause you worry, make you care,

bring you joy, bring you surprise,

and let you experience childhood all over again.

They make you understand your parents’ state of mind back then,

give you an excuse to buy the toys you once longed for but couldn’t have,

make you strong in pain, and calm in a crisis.

They let you see your childhood self,

so that you can better understand and accept yourself.

Parents raise the child,

and the child also accompanies the parents.

Parents and children nourish each other,

and fulfill each other.

In this fleeting life,

the child gives us something to look forward to in the future.

I think this is the reason for having children.

I don’t think everyone is meant to have children. But if you’ve ever wondered why so many parents say it changed everything, I think this gets close to the answer. Kids don’t just add responsibility. They bring joy and pain and wonder. They deepen love, and pull us out of repetition into something more alive.

And it just so happens, most people enjoy feeling more alive.