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I've often wished I could meet up with a Reading Group. There are some books that deserve more than solitary reading and there are readers like me who would love to share the pleasure and the humour together and discuss the issues that remain after the book is closed.

This week I read a book recommended by a friend and I know if we still lived nearby we would definitely have taken a coffee break together for that very purpose. It was a good read, it was thought provoking and it was inspirational.

It is a novel, initially a moving story about Mack, and a tragic experience which left him drowning in sadness and empty of faith. Eventually he learns to walk on the water in a manner of speaking. If you have ever asked God "Why me?" or "Why her?" or attempted to help someone else who has asked these questions then you will know that there are no easy answers.

Wm Paul Young has written a novel in which life's hardest questions are gently woven into the fabric of the story as Mack begins to understand the mystery of a loving God who lets bad things happen to good people. In the process the nature of the Trinity is presented in a simple and profound way. However this is a book about relationship and not religion and it will change the way you think about God.

It reminded me a little of Pilgrim's Progress because it is about a man's journey towards spiritual maturity. Although it is a work of fiction it is obvious that the author is writing from his heart and sharing truths he has learned himself from a similar journey.

This book has left me challenged, comforted and inspired. I needed to read this at the end of what has been globally a very difficult year.

If you read it please come back to me with your views, I would love to hear them…

Sylvia Plath (1932-1963)

Despite suffering from manic depression, Plath had managed to succeed with her writing. Even at an early age she showed potential, publishing her first poem at 8. She was an exceptional student, going to Smith College on a scholarship. During her time at college, she wrote over 400 poems. Her life was not always as a perfect as she portrayed. She nearly succeeded in killing herself by taking sleeping pills while working as an editor at Mademoiselle. This experience would be culminated into one of her most famous works, The Bell Jar. While married to poet Ted Hughes, their relationship was marred with rife and pain. His subsequent affair with Assia Wevill would cause them to separate. During the separation, she would start writing her poems for Ariel. Although she had moved into a flat that once belonged to William Yeats, and considered it a good omen, Sylvia took her own life in 1963. As her children slept, she placed towels underneath their doors, while she placed her head in an oven, and turned the gas on. In 1982, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize post-humously. Although she suffered internally, her brilliance will live on forever. Had she lived, who knows what further achievements she could have accomplished.

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)

He is probably one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. He was a novelist, a journalist, and short-story writer. He served time in the First World War as a volunteer for the ambulance unit in the Italian Army. His life experience often mirrored his works, such as A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls. His works earned him a Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize in Literature. Later in his life, he would be marred with bouts of depression, which resulted in stints in institutions. In his later years, his bouts with depression and alcoholism would consume him, driving him to take his life with a shotgun. Controversy surrounds the idea that he suffered from a form of diabetes (haemochromatosis), which causes depression. Considering that many immediate family members committed suicide as well, the theory is becoming more than speculative. His influence still lives on, with many of his works having become classics in literature.

Virginia Woolf (1882-1941)

She was considered a leader in feminist works, paving the way for examining a woman's role and her struggles. It is said that she suffered from bi-polar disorder, which often left her in a state of convalescence. However, she was often considered by her peers to be witty and highly intelligent. One of her more popular pieces, Orlando, is somewhat autobiographical, and is considered an important piece in women's writing. She was one of the leaders in the literary movement of modernism, and her way of writing using a technique called stream of consciousness, was unlike any other. By allowing the reader to gain access to a character's thought and associations allowed for a more appealing approach to reading. Unfortunately, her genius would be ended after suffering a nervous breakdown. After writing a last note to her husband, she placed rocks in her overcoat, and walked into the River Ouse near her home. The pain she had suffered from her depression and illness had become so unbearable, that she no longer believed herself capable of continuing on.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935)

Highly intelligent and self-educated, she earned a living designing greeting cards. She suffered from bouts of depression, which became worse after the birth of her daughter. Rather than feeling the joy and awe of being a mother, whenever she held her child, she was beset with pain. She was introduced to a controversial technique called the Rest Cure Treatment, whereby she had to isolate herself from family and stay in complete bed rest for a month. Rather than getting well, she progressively got worse. This led her to write a semi-autobiographical story, The Yellow Wallpaper, which addressed the issues of post-partum depression. In 1888, she divorced her husband, something unheard of in the 19th century. She became active in organizing social reform movements, and began publishing poems. Later in her life, Gilman would be diagnosed with breast cancer. Rather than succumb to the ravages and pain of the illness, she took her life by inhaling chloroform. During her life, she wrote more than 200 short stories, and became an influential humanist in the cause of woman's suffrage during her time.

Richard Brautigan (1935-1984)

His life was fraught with pain and misery. He was the product of abuse and poverty. There were times he and his family went without food. In his early 20's, he threw a rock at a police station window. Apparently he did it because he believed he'd get sent to prison and receive a good meal. Instead, he was sent to a psychiatric hospital, where he received electroshock therapy, and was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. His works often imitated his life, as in So the Wind Won't Blow It All Away. He was thrust into fame with his novel, Trout Fishing in America. His life was indicative of his feelings. Battling depression, schizophrenia, and alcoholism, Brautigan would battle thoughts of suicide for years. Eventually, he would succumb to his own unhappiness and take his life with a shotgun. His unique style of writing with black comedy and satire, has classified him as being a cult hero.

For him the resurrection of Jesus is of utter importance in relation to our future. The resurrection will sweep up everything in this world and recreate it in the new. For Wright, everything that's of value here will have value eternally, and he's not just talking about "spiritual" things, but about creative things, about work and love and kindness and relationships and all manner of other aspects of our everyday lives. The "first" resurrection happened here, in this world, and it will ultimately affect everything in this world. The new creation will incorporate the old, making all the old of immense value.

But this is just part of the message in the book. Wright presents a wide-ranging and accessible theology of the resurrection, of Easter itself, of the Christian's hope as it was understood in the early church, of what Jesus' judgement of this world means, of whether Purgatory and Paradise have any relevance to us.

And in his final section, where some of the best material lies (in a book full of good material), he writes of hope in practice: how the resurrection affects the mission of the church.

If you've ever felt that we've lost the point of Easter, that the resurrection was a one-off and rather odd event, and that our deaths are fairly irrelevant in the scheme of things, read this book. Even if you don't agree with all Wright's theology - as some (plainly misguided critics) don't - I'll be surprised if you're not inspired by at least some of what he has to say.

Mike Crowl blogs at http://mikecrowlsscribblepad.blogspot.com/

As I cast free my burdening load

Heaven's Gate, the place of my longing

Though, I may feel that I don't belong
Like at the home of my childhood sweetheart

Here, is a place that is guarded and strong

Working my way up to advance now

Trying my best to go on and get in
Learning that all of my past wants desires

Were surely not good and surely a sin

But, I have prepared for this very moment

Repented and fought for this very right
So, a kiss I give to you now my darling

For I must go on, I bid you good night

You lay still in your motionless slumber

Dreaming of this is your worsening fears
As I lay next to you, now, I am called on

Thank you, again, for all of those years

You'll wake in the morn to see I've departed

No more, to bear burden of all of my ills
I know that in time you will find the closure

For even you know we do as He wills

In the beginning of this story, Harry and his friends, Ron and Hermione, search for magical items called horcruxes, which contain fragments of the evil Lord Voldemort's soul. They find two horcruxes, and destroy them with a sword that once belonged to one of the founders of their old wizard school, Hogwarts. After they destroyed the two horcruxes, they head off to Hogwarts knowing that the last few Horcruxes were located there.

When they reach Hogwarts, they discover that Lord Voldemort had taken over Hogwarts and his followers were now running it. After a while of hard searching, they find another horcrux and they destroyed it. After they had destroyed it, they discover that a battle had begun between Lord Voldemort's followers and the teachers, and students in the school.

Near the end of the battle, Harry finds himself dueling with Lord Voldemort. After a few pages of talking, Lord Voldemort attacks Harry and his spell backfired upon himself, leaving Lord Voldemort dead. Nineteen years after Lord Voldemort died, Harry finds himself waving goodbye to his sons while their train departed and headed to Hogwarts.

I would recommend this book to other readers because the author put in a lot of details in every paragraph allowing the reader to understand the story more easily. I would also recommend this series to other readers because it has a very interesting storyline. Since this is the last book of the series, it has a conclusion to the series, and many fans of this series or just readers may want to find out what happens in the end.

Someone who we studied who is similar to Morrie was the main character in Death be Not Proud. He was on the verge of death for a long time. His father was like Mitch having to see his son go through the process of death. That is a person we studied who is similar to this story.

I think that Morrie would have followed the same path he did. The reason he would not have changed the path he followed was because he learned many great life lessons. If Morrie would have followed a different path he wouldn’t have had the same attitude about death. I would like to follow the path it mentioned in the question.

An experience that I had like this was the loss of my grandmother. It happened a couple years ago and I still feel upset when I think about it. I can understand what it is like for Morrie to have to deal with the loss of his mother. This book has not helped me at all.

I don’t think that Morrie would have as easily accepted it. I think it would have taken him longer to realize that he was going to die. He would be upset that he had such a short life. He probably would never accept it and then he would die. I think that his age had a big impact on how he acts.

I noticed that the "effect of silence" is a very effective teaching tool. I saw how it is human nature to want noise and how you feel awkward when there is no noise. Humans get a sense of comfort in noise. So when there is no noise we feel uncomfortable.

The "tension of opposites" in this story is similar to a rubber band. It is like two forces pulling on a rubber band in opposite directions. The rubber band is tight when you are under stress and loose when you aren’t. You are in the middle going up and down and it is hard when you are under stress. That is what the tension of opposites is.

If I had to make a list of what I want to learn from Morrie would be the same as Mitch. I would want to know about marriage and life. I might make my list shorter because some the things he talked about don’t interest me. Overall my list would be the same.

I think that the flashbacks were very important in order to create the idea of the book. The tone of the book was very laid back and calm. It was like this because it took place in an informal setting. The environment between the two was very laid back. Morrie acted like he was having a conversation not an interview.

I don’t think that students are missing out on any experience. If they did miss on anything it was a harmful one. The experiences were protests and drugs, I don’t think that these are good experiences. I think Morrie would partly agree with what I said. His opinion would be similar with mine.

I would say that that phrase is true. I think it is true because you would want to apply what you learn to your life in the future. You might want to go into the past and fix some problems you had, but since you can’t do that you will want to go forward. I think this was one of the major lessons that Morrie was trying to teach Mitch.

People can create their own cultures within their own family. The outside world might have certain standards but in your family you could have different standards. This is a way you can create your own culture separate from the world. This book helps because it shows how Mitch and Morrie have made their own cultures.

I think it is good to know what other cultures think of death. It is good to compare your views with the views of others. You can adopt ideas of other cultures if you think they are correct. It is up to you to decide what you think is right.

The ritual of bringing food gave Mitch a sense that everything was normal. It made him feel like he was doing something for Morrie. It helped Morrie because it showed him that someone cared about him and would go shopping for him. This ritual was very important in the story.

No, I don’t think that Morrie was judging people who want or have children. I think he was just saying that it is holds great responsibility because you are responsible for an entire human life. He was also showing that if you are up to the challenge that it can be a very rewarding experience. He was just stating a fact and an observance.

Mitch’s relationship with his brother is very weak. His brother is sick with pancreas cancer. He doesn’t want to talk to his family for some reason. He moved to Spain to get away from his family. He eventually talks to Mitch and they reestablish a relationship. Overall the relationship between them is very shaky.

I think that this is good advice because if you can’t talk to everyone in a social situation you don’t have an open heart. This is good for people who are hard to talk to. If you open your heart to them they might open up and talk to you.

I agree with what Morrie said. If you don’t have the same ideas and values as your spouse your marriage won’t last long. If one person is doing something they think is right and the other person doesn’t think it is right they could be offended and end a marriage. This is very important advice.

I don’t think that it would have had an effect on the lesson Mitch learned from Morrie. If they didn’t repair their relationship Mitch still would have taken a life lesson out of Morrie. If I was in Mitch’s position I wouldn’t have had any different feelings about what Morrie taught me. That is my opinion on this question.

As I read this story my opinion on Mitch did change as I read the story. My opinion of him at first was that he was just another person in the crowd, but as I read the story I began to think that he had figured out what he wanted to do with his life. He became a smarter and better person by the end of the story.

I think that Mitch got the most out of the meeting between the two. I think that he realized why it is important to live life to the fullest. He realized the importance of life and that he was going to die. I think that both of them would give the same answer.

I don’t think that Mitch would have come back if he went back to work. I think he came back because he didn’t have anything better to do so he decided to go back. That is why he went back.

I don’t think that he should have gone any easier or harder on Mitch. He criticized Mitch the right amount. He should have criticized him any more or less. I think Morrie was a good critic of Mitch.

No, I don’t that Mitch would have listened to Morrie if he wasn’t dying. I think that he would have viewed him as an old man who didn’t know what he was talking about if he wasn’t dying. I think that this was a big factor in Mitch’s listening to him.

Pemberton is being introduced here as Mrs. Moreen is here explaining to him everything he needed to know to tutor Morgan, everything except his salary. This in itself seems a bit what would be not normal, as seen by Pemberton's nervousness and hesitation. From the reference to Nice, we can know that Pemberton is an Oxford graduate who is a “poor young man” and is thus looking for some form of money. Through this interaction, we can see that Mrs. Moreen is trying to hide something or be elusive and is not being frank to Pemberton about his wages and Pemberton is too nervous to speak up about it until the end, showing that his reluctance may due to the fact that he wanted to make money but then again, his employer might be too imposing to his character. Thus Pemberton's relationship to Mrs. Moreen can simply be of an employee to an employer.

However the relationship of Mrs. Moreen to her son is quite different when she sends him to “fetch” her fan. She thinks very lowly of him and this is true when Pemberton says that she uttered things that a “boy of eleven shouldn't catch.” Then she mentions a “weakness” with her son and from what Pemberton is thinking, we can gather that is some heart condition. This can help characterize Mrs. Moreen, who knows about her son's condition and thus is hiring someone to educate her son and not discussing the wages, probably because she is not able to pay him. Mrs. Moreen's relationship with Morgan is of a very loving parent who wants to teach Morgan things in life, even though he is at the “mercy of a weakness” and she is going to do this by hiring Pemberton and promising him that his wages will be “quite regular.” What is ironical and perhaps foreshadowing what will happen is when Pemberton says that people have varying perception of what is “quite regular.”

Pemberton and Morgan seems to share a special connection compared to the mother. When Morgan sees him first, he is giving Pemberton a look of confusion and looks straight at Pemberton for “taking his education in hand.” The first reaction or analysis of Pemberton is to teach Morgan how to address his mother in his response, not causally. Right away, Pemberton begins a role as a teacher without even fully taking charge of his pupil. Pemberton begins to analyze and connect the “dots” with Morgan, as to why he is not so “robust” and how he seems to look intelligent but a bit “unpleasant.” Right away Pemberton seems to connect to Morgan and Morgan to Pemberton and this is evident especially when Mrs. Morgan gets up to leave and Pemberton takes the job without a definite salary being promised to him, very unlikely for others in his field of work.

The whole tone of the passage is filled with curiosity as one character seems to probe and explore his new pupil and his family. From Pemberton's point of view, we can see that Morgan is quite sickly boy that needs attention and that he is also intelligent and clever. Also from Pemberton's point of view, we can understand that Mrs. Moreen's family might not be so good because Morgan did not have a proper education as seen by his casual response to his mother. The dialogue between Pemberton and Mrs. Moreen also facilitates much of what happens in the story and sheds light onto Morgan, who is never directly involved in interaction with Pemberton.

Pemberton and Morgan seems to develop a new bond and Mrs. Moreen seems to be a bit shady character as she promises a salary but never defines exactly what it is. Pemberton's point of view sheds light onto Morgan who is a very sickly character and Mrs. Moreen who seems to be a “large addable lady.” A very peculiar inquiring tone is seen in this passage by Henry James and Pemberton seems to be reluctant and at the same time enjoying this new charge that has been given to him. Overall, Henry James uses variety of techniques including Tone, Point of View and Dialogue to show the unique relationship between Pemberton, Mrs. Moreen and Morgan Moreen throughout his passage from the novel, “The Pupil.”

The bear swats poor Wally but gets stung viciously in doing so. The hive is saved, but Wally lays prone. The queen tries to save Wally's life but can't. And, in his sacrifice Wally has for the last part of his life been one of the bees, his friends. There are other poems and tales in poems about friendship and love. And that is what makes this book a trully remarkable find and purchase. The book sells online in Amazon.com and can also be purchased directly from the author by emailing her at noras@zoominternet.net for a signed, personally addressed book.