The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kipp by Sara Brunsvold

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-All the wild ways to die could never compare to how she really lived.- 

This is not my normal style of book--something with this title would have been passed over without much consideration, but the plot sounded interesting and so I read it and I'm so glad I did.

Meet Clara Kip: an older lady dying of cancer at a hospice center, but she is bummed. She wanted to die in Sao Paulo, Brazil, not in Kansas City. Nevertheless, she is still full of life, even as her body threatens to give out on her. 

Meet Aidyn Kelley: a young, aspiring journalist, who is a little full of herself and quite sure she is capable of more than she has been given to do. But she has been taken down a notch and is tasked with writing an obituary for an old lady, something that is below grunt work in her mind. 

This book is their story. While the bulk of it comprises only a week, it is a story that will draw you in and keep you turning the pages. Mrs Kip dispenses so much wisdom in this week, wisdom that changes the trajectory of Aidyn's life and wisdom that can be applied to my life as well. 

"Even when it cost me something dear, I loved. No effort in Jesus' name is ever wasted."

"I simply tried to love people as best I could for as long as I was privileged to be with them. We don't stay long in each other's lives-that's the crux of our humanness. You have to be the friend people need while they are there with you, because it's the only chance you'll get." 

So much truth in here that can be applied to my life. I too often want things easy, easy relationships, easy life. No sacrifice, no giving up, but that is not the way of Jesus. 

I really, really enjoyed this book for so many reasons. One, it gave a glimpse into the humanitarian crisis that resulted when the American army and their allies withdrew from Vietnam in 1975. Two, it was a nice fiction book with zero romance. Three, it challenges me to love and sacrifice because I have no idea what the impact will be on the people I touch. 

I received this book from Revell and was not required to write a positive review.  All opinions expressed are my own. 

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