My lovely bloggie friend Becky recently read Sarah’s Key at the same time I did so we decided to swap blogs and do a review of the book. I really enjoyed this book. It gripped me emotionally in a way that a book hasn’t in a long time. Go over to Becky’s blog to read my full review!

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Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

My rating: 5 stars

Overview from Goodreads: Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family’s apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.

Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France’s past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl’s ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d’Hiv’, to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah’s past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.

This book was so good I couldn’t put it down. No really – I read it in a day. It was engaging, heartbreaking, and moving, all at once. I read it over a week ago and I’m still thinking about it – the story wrapped itself around my heart, and it’s going to be awhile before it eases its grip.

I actually had a really hard time writing this review because I’m not sure how well I can convey the beauty of this novel and how much it spoke to me.

The author’s ability to share this story through the eyes of a middle-aged journalist and a ten-year old girl blew me away, because I related to both of them even though I have never been in situations similar to theirs. The innocence Sarah has is almost calming at first, and I found myself crying with her as I watched that innocence start to dissolve and then shatter completely.

I found myself heartbroken and thankful at the end of this novel. Heartbroken for anyone who had to go through something like this and for all the pain and suffering it must have caused. I’m thankful there are people like the author who write about tragedies like this – it can’t be easy, but it’s so essential to never forget times like this – even if it’s horrible to think about.

I know I didn’t tell you a lot about the story itself, but I don’t want to spoil anything. Not because it’s a mystery, but because it builds from the beginning and to tell you one part would be the same as only giving you one piece of a puzzle – it would be good, and interesting, but you really need the whole picture. Let me just say I highly highly recommend it.

Have you read this book? What did you think? Have you read a story lately that has stuck with you?

Thanks for having me Amber!

Dear New Years Resolutioners,

Congratulations! You’re already a week-and-a-half into your new lifestyle change! How do you feel?

You’re probably getting to the point where it starts to get tough. Where it starts to feel pointless to stick with your new workout routine or eating healthier because you’re not seeing the changes you want to see.

I’m here today to tell you to keep going. Keep pushing through. It will get easier. Stick with it!

Almost exactly three years ago from this very month I was just like you. Pre-running, pre-marathon, pre-vegetarianism, pre-throwing-away-the-scale I was just another girl who was 25-pounds overweight, carrying around a little notebook to jot down everything I ate in.

My New Years Resolution was to lose weight. To finally, after spending 15 years feeling like the “fat girl”, let the confident me shine through.

And I did it.

It wasn’t always easy. Not at all. But I stuck with it and over the past three years my life has changed drastically and for the better.

So, New Years Resolutioners, I promise you, you will get there.

If you’re feeling guilty about that extra piece of cake you had last night, don’t be. Make a healthy choice this morning for breakfast. If you think all is lost because you missed the gym this morning, don’t worry, you can make it up after work, or tomorrow morning.

Don’t let one small slip-up turn into a days, or a weeks, or a months worth of “slip-ups”.

If you make one unhealthy decision, just make sure your next one is a healthy one. One of my favourite blog taglines out there is Then Heather Said‘s

“Make one healthy decision. Now make another.”

YES.

I’m rooting for you, New Years Resolutioners. Only you have the power to change your life around. Now go do it.

Love,

The girl who used to be just like you

Check out my guest post on Just a Titch yesterday and read my full healthy living story and how I went from a New Years Resolutioner to a Marathoner.

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Were you ever a New Years Resolutioner? Share your tips and tricks for NY resolutioners OR share a link to your own success story in the comments!

Me and my training partner, Lisa, are blog swapping today. So head over to Lisa’s blog to see my eerily similar post. (We didn’t plan to post on the exact same topic – I swear!!)

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Hey everyone! It’s Lisa of Lisa’s Yarns, aka Amber’s marathon training partner! While this is my 2nd marathon, it feels like my first since it has been 4 years since I ran my first marathon. Last time around, I did not have a training partner so it has been wonderful to have someone to share the journey with.

I feel like all I do is run or think about running. It’s on my mind non-stop, but I try to not to talk about it too much as I understand that it’s not nearly as interesting to everyone else as it is to me.

If you do wonder what marathon training is like, though, here is the good, the bad, and the ugly of marathon training, bullet point style!

The Good

• Marathon training tests your body and shows you how much mental strength you really do have. Completely these training runs is as much a mental battle as it is a physical battle – but it’s so rewarding to write down the mileage at the end of the week and see how much you have accomplished1
• Carb loading! I’m not far enough into training to really do much carb loading, but we are approaching the point where it will be important to load up on carbs the night before a long training run. I’m a sucker for a huge bowl of pasta or rice so I love that I have an excuse to help myself to a generous portion.

The Bad

• I won’t lie – it is really tough to balance work, training, and a social life. Marathon training means saying no to happy hours. It means getting up at 5 to do a run before going to work (I am not a morning person so that is the biggest struggle for me). It’s not always easy to juggle my schedule, but I know it’s important to find time for my training runs – otherwise I will pay for it on race day.
• It’s kind of painful. When you push your body to run 15+ miles at a time, you are going to feel it the next day. There are things you can do to minimize the pain, like ice baths, stretching, and hydrating, but its inevitable that you will have some discomfort along the way.

The Ugly

• My feet have done pretty well so far, but I do have some blisters and my calluses get worse and worse every day. I will spare you the photos but let’s just say, there is going to be a whole lots of chatter from the nail technician if/when I go in for a pedicure this summer/fall.
• Chafing. I am usually good about applying body glide, but sometimes in my rush to run out the door, I forget to apply it to certain areas – like the edge of my sports bra. I made this mistake last week and had a lovely half circle of chafing that scarred for a few days. That looked just lovely.

Even with the bad and the ugly side of marathon training, I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. I remind myself every day that I am so lucky that I am healthy enough to run and train for this event – and I hope and pray that Amber and I continue to have a healthy training season.

11 weeks from today, I will fly into Vancouver to meet Amber and start our journey to the finish line! Just thinking about that gives me chills. I am so excited to meet Amber face-to-face and share the marathon experience with her!

Have you ever considered running a marathon or doing another endurance event such as a triathlon?