Examining Our Values

In last week's post about Brandy's story, I talked about the scars left on children as witnesses to their parents' abusive marriage.  I talked about the balancing act that all parents do between protecting our children and letting them make their own mistakes in order to learn some hard lessons.  This week I want to talk about the same balancing act but from a different perspective. 

What if your grown child is struggling with a decision she made independently?  A big decision - one that has no easy options.  How do you feel about her making this decision on her own and how do you feel about the decision she made? Nothing can kill a mother's love for her child, but what if you don't agree with her decision?  What if you think it is morally wrong?  What if you are angry because her decision impacts you in a way you don't like? Do you

communicate your anger? Do you communicate your moral opposition? Is it wrong not to express these feelings to her?  She made a grown-up decision, should she have to deal with grown-up responses? Or do you keep it to yourself because she is already dealing with enough shame and uncertainty?

April doesn't have a relationship with her father (or, as she calls him, her "sperm donor").  Somehow he finds out about her decision, and he is enraged.  What if you are Brandy and you find out about this difficult choice through your estranged ex-husband who has a hair-trigger temper? Can you hide your shock from him? Can you hide it in your face? Can you find the words to say that will both protect your 

daughter and not reveal the complex emotions you're feeling? Can you act like you already knew?  Or do you deny it and tell him it didn't happen? 

Brandy's love and devotion to April is steadfast and can't be killed.  Her love for her daughter is truly unconditional.  This is one of several situations she will be in that require a great deal of soul searching. Our values come out in these situations.  

There are times in our lives when we are overwhelmed with emotion, and we have to make ourselves step back before making a decision.  Emotion-based decisions aren't always the right decisions. If we always acted on our emotions, then we would make decisions we later regret. That is not to say that emotion should not be part of the decision-making process, but it should be just that - a part of the decision-making process.

If some boy hurts my daughter I want to key his car, smash his headlights and pay someone to beat the crap out of him. 

 I don't do that though because I don't want to get sued and violence isn't an answer.  "Violence isn't an answer" - that statement comes from my values.  It overrides my emotional desire to have him beat to a pulp.

Brandy will have to take a serious look at her values.  She will have to do this quickly and without warning.  She will have to quickly evaluate her choices and try to make the decision that reflects her true values.

INHALE

BY KENDALL GREY

*This book contains language as well as violent and sexual content that may not be suitable for those under the age of 18"

"Inhale" is the story of two people, each dealing with the guilt of literally not saving someone dear to them.  Zoe is passionate about whales and pure of heart.  Gavin is hot and edgy and empty inside.  When they meet it's head-spinning, can't-see-straight, rock-my-world love.  There are a couple of catches, however. Zoe thinks Gavin is just part of her dreams, and Gavin is afraid to tell her the dangerous truth that it’s all real.

"Inhale" is about human nature.  It's about acknowledging all facets of ourselves as people and learning to balance it all. It's a story about the danger of imbalance.

There are many things I enjoyed about this book. I fell in love with both main characters.  Zoe is beautiful inside and out.  Her love for whales is touching.  She is strong and determined and absolutely crazy about Mr Perfect (her nickname for Gavin) in her dreams.

Gavin is a gorgeous rock star with a good heart.  He has more power than he wants to admit and he falls truly, madly, deeply in love with Zoe.  He realizes though that she has an important role to play in impending disaster in the Dreaming, a role he doesn't want her to play because doing so puts her very life at risk.  

This is a beautiful story in many ways, but there were a couple of things that bothered me.

One was the Dreaming World.  I eventually caught on to it somewhat, but there were portions of the story that took place in the Dreaming that confused me.  I get the overall concept, but some of the action just didn't click in my  head for some reason.  I read another book recently in which the main character alternated between worlds.  I never got confused in that one.  I could picture the other worlds and the events that took place in them, but I couldn't always do that with "Inhale".

The other thing that bothered me was some of the metaphors.  There were many that were clever or made me laugh, but there were also many that I felt were weak or over-the-top.

One complaint I have about a few books I've read recently - weak endings. I don't want a few short, unimaginative paragraphs that neatly wrap everything up.  I don't want a cliche ending with dialogue and action that my 12 year old could write.  Give me some emotion.  Make me smile and nod my head with heartfelt satisfaction.  Or make me scream at the book "that can't be the end!" Make me cry!  Please don't give me a quick, simple happily-ever-after ending that requires no creativity on your part.  

To Ms Grey - Thank you, thank you, thank you for a wonderful ending.  We get into Gavin's head and heart.  His relationship with Zoe takes a significant step.  The last chapter has many sweet spots.  There is a beautiful story line throughout the book that is related to a wooden bird that Gavin received as a child.  That story line has a very pleasant turn at the end of the book.  Well done Ms Grey.  Very well done.  Thank you.

Book Cover Descripton

After years of suffocating under her boss’s scrutiny, whale biologist Zoe Morgan finally lands a job as director of a tagging project in Hervey Bay, Australia. Success Down Under all but guarantees her the promotion of a lifetime, and Zoe won’t let anything—or anyone—stand in her way. Not the whale voices she suddenly hears in her head, not the ex who won’t take no for an answer, and especially not the gorgeous figment of her imagination who keeps saving her from the fiery hell of her dreams.

Gavin Cassidy hasn’t been called to help a human Wyldling in over a year, which is fine by him. Still blaming himself for the death of his partner, he keeps the guilt at bay by indulging in every excess his rock star persona affords. That is, until he’s summoned to protect Zoe from hungry Fyre Elementals and learns his new charge is the key to restoring order in the dying Dreaming. He never expects to fall for the feisty Dr. Morgan…nor does he realize he may have to sacrifice the woman he loves to save an entire country.

*This book contains graphic language, sex, and violence. Not suitable for readers under the age of 18.

**The author will donate all profits from the sale of the JUST BREATHE trilogy to programs that educate people about whales and the challenges they face.

About the Author

Kendall Grey, word wrangler, whale warrior, wicked wench, and lover of tongue-tripping alliteration, was born without an off-switch between her brain and mouth. She's been called the "Flux Capacitor of Twitter" (@kendallgrey1) and "A little package of love all wrapped up in F-word paper," but she's really just a maniacal writer relaying eyewitness accounts of the rave inside her head. She writes urban fantasy with strong romantic elements and also dabbles in erotica and horror on occasion.

Kendall lives off a dirt road near Atlanta, Georgia, but don't hold that against her.

justbreathenovels.com
kendallgrey.com