Book review and random rantings!

I finished this book last week, and have had a hard time getting the characters out of my head. For me that's a sign of a good book. I'm sure I'm one of the last people on the planet to have read this, but it was worth the wait. I had so many thoughts running around in my head while reading. The biggest was, "how in the world can people be treated this way in the name of God/Allah or whatever?" Unfortunately I'm sure there are much worse TRUE stories out there and this is modern day. How could anyone believe that acts that degrade another human soul are condoned by God?

Of course I am profoundly dedicated to my faith, but I know of so many others that preach love, peace, uplifting of your fellow men, goodness, kindness, mercy, etc. I truly believe that "by their fruits ye shall know them." Fruits, being actions, that speak much louder than words. In my faith I have always felt cherished. I cannot tell how many times I hear leaders of my faith encourage and uplift women. I was always taught to get educated, go out and experience life, and believe that I can accomplish anything. The roles of men and women are often different, but guess what...we are different! Thank goodness. I am so grateful for the experiences I have had with dear friends of different faiths that have always been there to encourage and uplift me. I have been sad at many of the media reports that have shed my faith in an unflattering light. I'm grateful for my friends of these different faiths that have accepted me by my "fruits" and not judged me by what they may have "heard" from biased and judgmental sources.

Am I getting off on a tangent? Of course I am...that's me. But the point is that this book really made me think of all of us as children of our Heavenly Father. We may be in different circumstances in life, but we all have hopes, dreams, and love to share. We all need love and respect. We all love our children and have heartbreaks in life. Hopefully we can all come to see each other as more the same than anything else.

My brother just gave me a copy of the book Escape. It is about a woman who escaped the clutches of the polygamist clan ran by Warren Jeffs. Coming on the heels of the above book that also revealed a culture where women were oppressed and thought of as "less than," I'm not sure if I'm ready for it. I'm sure it will make me SO MAD!!! Especially because so many people still believe that they are affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Of course the media hasn't helped with that one either as they reported about them in front of the Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah?!! Sorry, but in my humble opinion Anderson Cooper is no genius. Just because he's easy on the eyes doesn't make him a great news man. Lately when I listen to him I laugh more than anything else. It does make me realize that I can't judge all of Islam by the radical faction. Again, I'm on a tangent.

So, what I started to write about was that I LOVED this book, and that I'm so grateful for a family and a faith that has always made me feel like the sky's the limit...and that I'm worth it. Thanks for enduring my random thoughts.