Home Safe: A Review

Recently, I finished reading Home Safe, a novel by Elizabeth Berg. This fairly easy read told the story of Helen, a recently widowed author, who is slowly coming to terms with her new life without her precious husband. Helen learns that her trusted husband had withdrawn large sums of money from the couple's retirement account prior to his unexpected death; Helen experiences doubt and faces her fears until she finally discovers the unexpected gift left to her by her husband. All in all, the novel is a moving story of family, eternal love, and hope. I highly recommend this wonderful work as part of your summer reading plan.

The aspect of the novel to which I was immediately drawn was the emphasis placed on writing. In order to earn some extra money, Helen teaches a class of novice writers that come for diverse social and economic backgrounds. What begins as a means to an end ultimately becomes a valued part of Helen's own healing process. Writing becomes therapeutic. Through the creative process and the power of words, Helen and her students find themselves tearing down walls of self-preservation that they have erected to keep the world out of their most intimate thoughts.

I am beginning to experience some of the same value of writing. While not actively pursuing professional acclaim for my writing, I am re-discovering the power of the written word and the freedom that comes from committing my thoughts -- both intimate and professional -- to paper. By writing, I not only organize my thoughts and concisely present them for public consumption, but I also encounter unexplored intellectual arenas to which my newly organized ideas lead. In the few short months that I have been writing regularly in the blogosphere, I have learned much about myself while regaining confidence in myself and my role in my chosen career.

We are all looking for a place to be Home Safe. My treasured place of rest and acceptance is not currently a physical location, but rather the home that I have created for myself through the expression of the written word.