Review: If Everybody Has A Story, What Does Yours Say About You?
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 7, 2013
Disclaimer: I was provided a complimentary copy of "The Story Guy" by the publisher in exchange for my honest review. Receipt of this has had no bearing on my opinions or the rating.Everybody has a story. No matter what we are most closely identified by; whether it be by career, familial connection, or any outward visible relation to race, handicap or other affiliation, there is always some piece of us that is behind the facade of what others see. If we are lucky we find that one person, or persons, that breaks through it all and uncovers those otherwise hidden pieces and supports and loves us not only in spite of them but because of them.Carrie and Brian are likable and more real than one would expect from a novella. Their character development is complete but leaves the reader wanting and needing more. Insomniacs will relate. Single persons will relate. Those with complicated relationship histories will relate. When coming home to ones charming and comfortable home environment leaves one itching for more, this story captures that feeling. When ones home environment is stressful and sad, one will relate. When obligations are heavy that does not mean that they are a burden. When things are burdensome it does not mean that they are obligations. This story approaches what might be real situations and shows how Brian and Carrie work through it all.More than anything this is a story about finding balance. It is fine to love ones career, but when work becomes ones identity, then home or time off becomes lonely and empty. When one works only for the benefits, such as health insurance coverage, flexible time off, or financial gain then work becomes only a job. When one has friends that are happily coupled off, it makes comparisons to ones own life inevitable. This is not a tale of envy but one of looking for a personal "happily ever after" without the shiny armor of a fairy tale prince rescuing a fair maiden.I want to give a happy shout out to Mary Ann Rivers for not making Brian and Carrie out to be physically or emotionally perfect. Their imperfection makes them as real as oneself, ones friends, neighbors or co-workers. Although we all have this Clark Kent to Superman image of a man with glasses, it was still endearing to think of Brian with them on. There is the stereotypical image of librarians wearing sensible clothes and glasses but Carrie brings that to another level. Being deprived of the ability to see without her glasses on, Carrie chooses to leave her glasses in place during intimate moments so that she can gauge Brian's reactions. Even the choice she makes to focus on Brian's hands instead of washboard abs, muscular shoulders or tight behind tells of a relationship based in different fundamental promises.I am choosing not to divulge too many details about how these two meet or where their story goes. What starts are a casual and unconventional relationship has very firm boundaries put in place right from the start. When those boundaries start to slowly crumble from 10 foot security fences to a breezier picket rail border the reader is already cheering for Brian and Carrie.There is an unexpected point when one believes that whatever is between them, they will have the spunk and determination to overcome it. From a once a week, one specific hour long get-together, they speak on the phone. I warn readers not to judge about the once a week statement. It is less seedy than it sounds and whatever you assume is the reason for it, you will be unexpectedly taken in another direction. So why is the phone call the change in direction? That phone call is not a conversation in a traditional sense. It does not serve a single purpose. It is a way for them to get to know one another better but it is also foreplay. I don't want to label it as phone sex. That would categorize it, and if this book is anything it is not easily categorized.If you have ever fallen in love with a first kiss, then you will understand how slow is often times the speed that a couple intends to take. If you have ever found yourself daydreaming about that kiss and replaying that kiss over and over, you will understand that kissing is as important a sexual act as any other.This was a refreshing take on finding love in the most unlikely of places under the most unorthodox circumstances. Thank you, Ms. Rivers for a love story for a more mature and perhaps more jaded audience. Secrets have often in real life been what kills a relationship. Here was an example where a single secret made our hero more of a man than money, romance or physical attributes ever could.