Kate’s 2¢: “Time Is A River” by Mary Alice Monroe

“Time Is A River” by Mary Alice Monroe

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Mare Travathan did a great job of narrating this impactful story. The support group retreat “Casting for recovery” was, as support groups are, the first step and the rest of the journey must be made by the individual in her own time.

   This story resonated with me on several levels, even though I am not a fisherwoman. I liked the metaphor of the river to move one forward after trauma, onto another future.

   A few take-aways:

–I faced my mortality…I can never be the same person.

–Let go of her old self-image and make peace with the way her body was now.

–Let the fear of cancer go down the drain with the dirty water. To live fully, she had to believe she would live.

–She followed it out from the darkness of depression’s labyrinth to the light of the river.

–She wanted to ask him if he wanted to leave before the cancer.

–Time is the substance from which I am made, Time is a river that carries me along.

–I was fortunate to have cancer that was caught in the early stages.

–She was casting her line out into the universe and seeing what took it.

–The choice was not merely to survive, but to live  

–Follow the river home.

–I will be standing in the river of times, waiting for you.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mary Alice Monroe (born May 25, 1960)[1] is a best-selling author known for fiction that explore the compelling parallels between nature and human nature. She was born in Evanston, Illinois.[1] Many of her novels deal with environmental issues. For example, The Beach House and Swimming Lessons refer to the plight of injured sea turtles.[2][3]

Monroe currently resides in South Carolina, and many of her novels are set in the southern United States and feature “strong Southern women”.[4]

Her novel Time Is a River is about breast cancer survivors in a fly-fishing group in North Carolina, and Last Light Over Carolina describes the life and times of the shrimping industry.[5]

Monroe has received numerous awards, including the 2008 Award for Writing from the South Carolina Center for the Book, 2014 South Carolina Award for Literary Excellence, 2015 SW Florida Author of Distinction Award, the RT Lifetime Achievement Award, the International Book Award for Green Fiction. Mary Alice Monroe is a 2018 inductee to the South Carolina Academy of Authors.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Time is a river DB66991

Author: Monroe, Mary Alice

Reading Time: 11 hours, 35 minutes

Read by: Mare Travathan

Subject: Psychological Fiction

After losing her job, battling cancer, and catching her husband committing adultery in Charleston, South Carolina, Mia Landan returns to a North Carolina treatment center. The owner lends Mia a mountain cabin, where Mia reassesses her life–and discovers a diary. Some descriptions of sex. 2008.

New York : Pocket Books, 2008.

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