Paradise Lost, then Found

I’ve always loved libraries, and as I’ve gotten older, I love them even more. I used to teach in colleges and currently I’m teaching in libraries. My home away from home now happens to be the exquisitely charming Burlington Public Library. It’s just a hop, skip, and a jump over the border in Wisconsin next to […]

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I’ve always loved libraries, and as I’ve gotten older, I love them even more. I used to teach in colleges and currently I’m teaching in libraries. My home away from home now happens to be the exquisitely charming Burlington Public Library. It’s just a hop, skip, and a jump over the border in Wisconsin next to Lake Geneva, a popular nearby vacation destination for so many of us. It sure has been a welcomed respite over the years for me!

I teach classes in yoga and meditation as well as lead groups in an assortment of fascinating book studies. Recently, as I was passing by the colorful children’s book display, BOYOGI caught my attention. What a great title!

The intriguing cover artwork of yoga poses surrounding a military man on his knees hugging a child brought me in closer to the subtitle, “How a Wounded Family Learned to Heal.” Now, who wouldn’t want to read such a book?

So right then and there I sought out an unusually handsome man and coaxed him into sitting next to me on a soft, cushioned library seat so we could read this picture book together. By the way, if you’re single you’ll find a lot of attractive people at the library. This man happened to be my husband, but if he weren’t I would certainly marry him.

It took just about seven magical minutes for us to slowly read through this incredible book—a story about a father veteran returning home to his young family, a changed man. No longer happy and carefree. His children don’t understand the changes in his personality. He looks the same but doesn’t act the same.

His wife enrolls them both into a yoga class at the local Y, and transformations start to happen for the entire family, particularly for the father and son. It’s a book worth reading. I don’t want to give away too much. Just get it, you’ll see.

It might take you less than seven minutes to read it. I can be a slow reader. However, the incredible flowing illustrations by Noah Denmon and the sensitive meanings within the words by David Barclay Moore have a lingering effect. I sit here now, days later, still reflecting on its thoughtful gentle brilliance. Wow.

You could meet your match at the library too. It’s all there for the taking—every type of incredible vision of fiction, non-fiction, and beyond, surrounded by the most attractive and fascinating people.

Yep, at the library it’s just another day in paradise.

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This story is an excerpt from the Kane County Chronicle’s’ Yo Joan column of June 6. Joan Budilovsky can be reached at [email protected] or thru her website, www.Yoyoga.com, or possibly at a library near you.

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