Review: Sensitive and beautifully written!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 24, 2014
Marlayna Glynn Brown's latest memoir Rest in Places is just as described in the title — a journey she takes with her father after his death, distributing his ashes as she travels.  There are detailed descriptions of the places she visits and the people she encounters, yet the book is much more than a travelogue.  Readers will find both joy and sadness in the pages as the author recounts her journey which begins as she sits with her dying father at his bedside. Don't read this book if you're not comfortable with soul baring introspection because Marlayna Glynn Brown challenges her readers to examine their lives and their relationships with parents, children, and spouses just as she examines her own. Raised by an alcoholic father and a selfish and self-serving mother, the author does not waste her readers' time with the familiar theme of blaming her parents for everything that is wrong in her life.  Instead she finds that "the best thing you can do for yourself is to forgive others." One of the most poignant aspects of this book is the author's insertion of letters which she imagines her father may have written as she arrives at each destination where his ashes will be spread.  It is a deeply touching look into the heart and soul of the author as she imagines her father's reaction to her journey. I was drawn to read this book for two reasons. First of all, I love to travel and the phrase "Journey Around the World" in the title caught my eye.  While the journey does not necessarily extend to "around the world", it does include many places in Central American ranging from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts.  Secondly, I've always told my family I want my ashes to be spread in all the places I would like to travel — they laugh, even though I'm serious! Rest in Places is a very frank and honest look at a life lived not as a victim, but as one who has emerged from adversity to trust, hope and love and in her own words, strives "to give people the benefit of grace and understanding, at face value recognizing they are a work in progress like I am."  I think readers will find this book entertaining, inspiring and healing.  As human beings one of the most important things we have to offer each other is shared experience and the knowledge that others have walked the same path we are walking.  Rest in Places is a sensitive and beautifully written invitation from Marlayna Glynn Brown to walk her path.