Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough
Blog: awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog
My Jasper June
By: Laurel Snyder
Narrated by: Imani Parks
Laurel Snyder (American Author, Poet, writer of children’s books, and PBS commentator.)
“My Jasper June” is a beautifully rendered story of life by Laurel Snyder. Snyder shows different ways of coping with life’s broken parts. It takes place in Atlanta, Georgia, but it could be in Anywhere, America. It is a story of a 13-year-old girl, her friend, and her family. Every parent who has a teenage child will be entranced by Snyder’s tale.
Having lived long, older reader/listeners know every life has broken parts. We either recover from the broken parts or we lose our way.
Snyder’s novel of a family who loses a son from drowning may be at the extreme end of life’s broken parts, but every life is touched by loss and hardship.
Snyder shows how a mother, father, and daughter respond to a child’s loss in their family.
Snyder’s story explains a broken part in life is suffered individually. Being broken comes in many forms. It may be a death of a loved one, failure in work, failure as a mother-father-daughter-son, failure in intellect, failure in physical health, so on, and on. Every person is broken in their own way. Care for broken parts is often lost in a fog of grief and despair. That grief and despair only disappears with time, understanding, and action.
Snyder’s novel shows grief is ameliorated with acceptance and reworking of one’s perspective.
Snyder’s story is not just about a death in the family. There are many ways Snyder’s story resonates with its reader/listeners. The most significant is in ways of coping with broken parts of one’s life. Some run from problems, but as the boxer Joe Louis famously said, “You can run but you can’t hide.” Snyder shows healing from broken parts can only begin with being honest with yourself and those around you. Understand how you are broken and explain the broken parts to those who are important to you. Snyder shows with understanding of what is broken, plans can be made, and actions taken.
Snyder’s novel shows–only with honesty of explanation can one’s relationship with another be restored.
Laurel Snyder’s story is as interesting and satisfying in its end as in its beginning.
REVIEWS AND VIEWS OF LIFE 
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