here’s to us - elin hilderbrand

let me paint a picture for you as I like to do. I was 15 living in Romania going to a tiny strict school completely different than anything ive experienced. and when I say tiny and strict I mean 30 kids in a grade and not being allowed jewelry. almost everyone shared the same native language which I did not. I was a weird looking, quiet kid and did not fit in. I did not enjoy that school i’ll be honest. I wish I could be cool and say I did and it was transformative and maybe it was, it probably was, but for the most part I just felt out of place. I think I more so just didnt have time to adjust from the 300 kid a class poor midwest high school I was used to. but alas. they had recess can you picture that? recess for teens, perhaps a good idea, fresh air and whatnot. but not having anything to do and not having many books from home, I read this on repeat. every recess, lunch, break. anytime I needed something to distract myself from the uniforms and words I did not understand and that feeling of isolation. is this book exceptionally good? no. is it entertaining? yes! by the end of the school year I had taped the spine and crinkled the pages. I dropped it in the toilet once, before use I swear. it's one of those stories where each chapter is a new perspective. its set on nantucket, as all her stories do, a man died and the three women of his past come to his house to figure things out. easy summer reading, what’s wrong with that? I more so just wanted to share the story behind the book as it had made it one of the most important books of my life. crazy huh. ive grown into myself now and dont need to hide behind books and so for that I am lucky. and relieved. god.