Saturday 28 May 2011

Halfway to Each Other

Finished May 27
Halfway to Each Other: how a year in Italy brought our family home by Susan Pohlman
Susan's marriage was on the rocks when she and her husband decided to move to Italy for a year, because it felt like the right thing to do for them. Tim quits his job, they sell their house, and get rid of or store belongings. They have 2 children: Katie, fourteen, and Matt, eleven.
The idea to make the move came to them on a business trip to Italy.
There are a lot of references to listening to God, to letting God guide them, and how they found appropriate verses from the Bible for situations they found themselves in.
I'm afraid that I just didn't connect with this book. At the start of their time in Italy their behaviour screamed "stereotypical ugly American" and while Susan made reference to this, the behaviour as she described it never really changed. It was subdued a bit as they learned some of the language and made some local and expatriate friends, but it still didn't feel like they were letting that go.
What this book really described is how the two adults took a year off work, removed themselves from the environment that was eating away at their marriage and tried to reconnect with each other (although at times even that seemed half-hearted). It worked for them and they've moved on together, so good for them.
I wish I hadn't bothered to read this one though, as there are so many other books I want to read. The cover and idea grabbed me, but it didn't live up to them.

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