I so enjoyed this book, written by Garth Stein, a Seattle author. What a treat to read a novel! The book was loaned to me by Ginny Wiley, whom I worked with last week. Just the right timing for a couple of airplane reads and a few hot baths. Just the right mix of delight to hear a story told by a dog, Enzo, and deep-hearted concern of human beings in the reality of human life. A story of family, of conviction, of humility. Background themes intelligently woven in from the world of car racing. Laughter in the beginning. Aches in the middle. Tears in the end for me.
There is one passage at the end that felt like a signature. It makes it seem like the book was much about racing. This paragraph was, for me, about wholeness. Just keep learning this one.
“I know this much about racing in the rain. I know it is about balance. It is about anticipation and presence. I know all of the driving skills that are necessary for one to be successful in the rain. But racing in the rain is also about the mind! It is about owning one’s own body. About believing that one’s car is merely an extension of one’s body. About believing that the track is an extension of the car, and the rain is an extension of the track, and the sky is an extension of the rain. It is about believing that you are not you; you are everything. And everything is you.”