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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Book Club Discussion: Two Kisses for Maddy
Sorry this is a little late (I was out sick the last couple of days). Did anyone read Two Kisses for Maddy? If so, what did you think?
Re: Book Club Discussion: Two Kisses for Maddy
I am 2/3 of the way through it. The library finally got the book last week and I picked it up Tuesday.
As a reader of Matt's blog since a few months after Liz's death I've really enjoyed reading more background of his story and about the life he and Liz had together.
One thing that really stuck out to me was how little time they truly had together. Despite the 12 years they were together, 6 of those years were spent at different schools/different areas of the country. And when they did finally get to live together a lot of their time was spent each traveling for their separate jobs. I don't know if I would have been able to commit to that much long distance within a relationship. Their bond appears to have been very special because of their ability to overcome distance for so many years.
I bawled my way through the book. I have followed his blog since a couple weeks after Liz died, so I was excited to see what he'd put in the book that I didn't already know. I can't even imagine how difficult it would be to sit outside your wife's hospital room while they work on her.
I actually got to meet Matt a couple of weeks ago. One of my good friends works with Brooke's mom, so she invited us over to her house when Matt, Brooke and Maddy were going to be there. He's so very humble and you can tell he loves Maddy with every ounce of his being. While I was there, I kept thinking how weird/awkward it must be for Brooke at times.
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I've thought a lot about this as well, it seems like it would be very awkward and difficult at times.
I loved the book. I also follow the blog, which I find hard to read at times, but I like it because it's unique. I loved hearing more about their story....how they met, the decisions they made to be together yet apart, and just the love they had for each other. I cried a lot during the book.
I think their story hits close to home because he is around my age and at the same stage in life. Plus the fact that he is from MN adds to that.
jim&aim-that is so cool that you go to meet him, they way you describe him is exactly how I imagine him to be. I agree, it has to be so hard to be Brooke at times....it's just a tough situation all around.
The one thing I have a hard time with, that wasn't talked about in the book, but he spoke to recently in his blog is the fact that he is agnostic/atheist (I'm not sure which one, but I know he does not believe in heaven). He has the right to believe in and raise his child however he wants, and I think he's doing a damn good job, but I wonder how he will handle the situation as Maddy grows up. Also, I think Liz's parents are Catholic, so I wonder if they talk to her about their beliefs....and does he care if they do? I'm not trying to knock on Matt or anyone else's beliefs, nor am I trying to open a can of worms....for the record.
I just know that if I lost someone so close to me, I would find comfort in the fact that they may be watching down on me or that I will see them again someday....
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I loved the book. My DH even said he wants to read it. He hasn't started yet though...
I remember reading Liz's obituary in the Star Tribune while on break from my jobe back when she passed away. I remember thinking how young she was and how she had this newborn baby (not knowing she never got to meet her). Shortly after that, I stumbled upon Matt's blog somehow and read it for awhile, lost track of the blog and then found it again and have read it since. I follow him on Twitter too.
He went through such great detail, I can't imagine how painful parts of that book were to write. He is an amazing writer although he never intended to be a writer.
Did anyone see the segment on Kare11? He did an interview with a reporter and at the end she said something about a second book and he said something like "maybe" or something... I'll see if I can find it. I'd love to read another book from him.
I agree, I wonder what it's like for Brooke. I don't remember where I read it but I read that sometimes Maddy will say "I don't have a Mommy" and Brooke will reply with "Yes you do, you have a Mommy [showing her a picture of Liz] and you have a Brookie [her nickname]." How long have Matt & Brooke been together? I can't remember if I've read it on the blog or something before.
ETA: Like pp mentioned, I was amazed at the love they had for eachother. Two opposites, falling head over heels in love. Especially after she passed away, talking about her and wanting to remember the love they had. It got me to thinking about DH and I. Do I show him I love him enough? Do I give him everything he deserves from me, being his Wife? God Forbid, if I leave this World before him, will he know just how much I love him? When he talked about when he went back to work briefly after her passing and the emails he still had from her, the voicemails, the pictures... He was able to deal with that at home but then to go to work and see more pictures and have more reminders and sort of go back to square one in his grief. That reminded me a lot of DH and I too.. I have a folder in outlook here at work of the emails he sends, he has the same for me.
He seems like a really awesome guy! I had all the intentions to go to a book signing here in the TC but I totally spaced on it and blew my chances. I hope he comes back sometime for a signing. Some parts of the book made me laugh out loud too, with his writing style and his one-liner sentences.
Is this the blog entry you're talking about? http://www.mattlogelin.com/archives/2011/05/26/in-response-to-the-old-man-in-maryland/#more-5293
I gasped audibly when I read what the man said to Maddy. OMG. I can't imagine what people will try to tell her when she's older.
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Yes, that is the one! I agree, I was totally appalled that he thought he had the right to say something like that and to a 3 year-old!
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What were your favorite parts?
Did it make you stop and think about your own relationships?
Will you make any changes in your life after reading it?
He actually did touch on this slightly in his book and it's one thing I loved about it. He talked about how he didn't want to hear that she was "in a better place" because she's not. She's simply dead. And it sucks.
Maybe this stood out to be because, while I don't particularly identify myself one way or the other, I'm pretty much agnostic. I loved that he didn't use a higher power or this idea of something that may or may not exist to cope. She died. She didn't go somewhere else; she's just gone. It's very blunt and I appreciate that.
Also, the picture of him sitting outside the hospital room amid pure and devastating chaos is forever engrained in my mind.
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