Right after Del's car accident, I went to the library. That probably doesn't surprise anyone who knows me because during hard times, I READ. Sometimes I read because I need to escape reality for a little while. Sometimes I want to learn something new, and other times I just need a book that makes me look at life a little differently.
When I saw The Day That Changed Everything by Catherine Miller, the title alone was enough to make me pick it up. My own life had just changed in a matter of seconds, so I think I was naturally drawn to a book with that title. But when I realized the story involved Tabitha opening her home to teenagers who needed someone, there was another reason I wanted to read it.
For years, I've had this dream of eventually opening a second-chance equine program that would give both horses and young people who need a different direction in life another chance. My vision is completely different from Tabitha's story, but the idea of opening your life to teenagers and trying to give them somewhere safe to land hit pretty close to that dream of mine.
So I checked the book out thinking I was simply getting something to read during one of the hardest seasons we've been through. I didn't expect it to have me picturing parts of a future I've been dreaming about for years.
About The Day That Changed Everything Book
When you lose the love of your life, how do you find yourself again?
For Tabitha, the day that changed everything started like any other.
She woke up, slid her feet into fluffy slippers, wrapped herself in a dressing gown and tiptoed out of her bedroom, leaving her husband Andy sleeping. Downstairs, she boiled the kettle and enjoyed a cup of tea as the sun rose.
Upstairs, Andy’s alarm sounded, and Tabitha took him a freshly brewed coffee, like every other morning. Except today, the incessant beeping rang out and her husband hadn’t stirred. She called his name, she nudged his shoulder. But Andy wouldn’t wake up.
Three years later Tabitha is trying her hardest to get by in the shadow of her grief. She may have lost the love of her life but she won’t give up on the family they dreamed of. Fostering troublesome teenage girls and a newborn baby is a chance to piece together her broken heart.
But being a mother isn’t easy, and neither is healing the heartache she carries around. After losing everything, could saving these three children help Tabitha save herself too?
This stunning tale will make you laugh and cry in equal measure, hold your loved ones close and see the beauty in the little things in life. Fans of Jojo Moyes, Jodi Picoult and Diane Chamberlain will love this moving and uplifting story.
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My Review of The Day That Changed Everything Book
There were definitely some touching parts in this book, but what stood out to me more than anything was the amount of HOPE woven throughout it. There's grief and loss, but there's also love, forgiveness, second chances, and the reminder that something good can still grow after your life looks completely different from what you thought it was going to be.
I also really liked the way Catherine Miller moved between Tabitha's past and present. Sometimes books that jump around in time can leave me wondering where in the world I am, but I didn't have that problem here. It was easy to follow, and learning more about Tabitha's past helped me understand why she made the choices she did in the present. The past isn't just thrown in for the sake of telling us what happened. It helps explain the woman we're watching try to build a new life.
I especially enjoyed watching Tabitha make room in that new life for teenagers who needed her and eventually a baby. And this is probably where my experience reading the book became a little different from someone else's because I kept picturing MYSELF in her shoes.
Considering one of my biggest dreams is to create a program that helps teenagers and young adults find a different direction through working with horses, I couldn't help it. I kept thinking about what my own version of that life might actually look like. Granted, my vision is completely different from Tabitha's, but there was one part that really got me thinking.
I've been on the fence about whether I would actually want the teenagers in my future program to LIVE with us.
That's a whole different level of commitment than having them come to a program during the day, work with the horses, learn skills, receive support, and then go home. Reading about Tabitha actually sharing her home and everyday life with teenagers made me think about that question in a way I really hadn't before.
And maybe that's one of the things I liked most about The Day That Changed Everything book. It entertained me during a time when I desperately needed somewhere else for my mind to go, but it also made me think about my own life. It reminded me that loss doesn't necessarily mean the end of everything that comes afterward. Sometimes life changes in ways we NEVER would have chosen, and we still get to decide what we're going to build with what remains.
For me, that message hit at exactly the right time.
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Talk to me in the comments:
Have you ever read a book that unexpectedly made you think differently about a dream or decision in your own life? What did it make you reconsider?
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