When you find a new book by chance, you never know what you are going to get.
Sometimes, when I read a story, I go away with a deeper understanding and another piece of
the puzzle for my own life. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, I am thrilled to
the core. That's exactly what I experienced the other night as I finished the metaphysical
fiction -- Changing Planes, by award winning author Laurie J. Brenner.
I ordered the book from Amazon and when it came and it fell out of the box, I was first
taken aback by it's beautiful cover. The cover alone intrigued me, and after reading the
book, I see why. I was glad that it was only a novella, because my life is really too
hectic for a novel the size of War and Peace, but when I started reading, I found I
couldn't put it down.
Though it's my job to deal in words, I can't describe this book well enough to do it
justice. It's better if you just read it yourself. I highly recommend that you do so. It's
not expensive and it's the kind of book that you want to keep around, just to be able to
give it to a friend. When I read it, it was like I was reading my own life, I identified
with the main character that much.
Everybody should read this book, especially women. And if you can get through it without
crying, then your heart is more than hardened, it has turned to stone. Maybe this book is
what you need to read. Maybe you experienced something similar to what it's main
character, Madison Reeves experienced. Her heart opens wide enough for us to see inside.
Madison Reeves, a young, ambitious VP of a high-end department store, is about to embark
on the journey of a lifetime. She doesn't know it as she heads for the airport on a
Caribbean vacation, yet something nags at her, deep in the recesses of her mind.
The moment Madison reaches the airport terminal, odd things begin to happen to her but she
quiets her unrest and her rumbling intuition, blaming it on being overstressed and
overworked.
Things get odder and odder and rapidly escalate into events that are out of this world
until Madison can no longer deny that she has left ordinary far behind.
After leaving the plane as she enters the airport terminal she realizes that "she
isn't in Kansas any more." She faints when her long deceased grandfather meets her at
the airport gate.
Madison is on a journey that most souls don't get to remember or tell as she has found
herself in the world between worlds -- that place between the living and the dead.
What happens to you as you read this story, is something just short of a miracle as you
begin to see yourself in Madison and experience what she experiences. By the time you
reach the end (which you don't want to happen), you are shocked clear out of your senses.
You experience an ending that comes out of left field and truly takes you by surprise. It
is here that you realize that all things are possible, not only for Madison, but for you
as well.
Changing Planes not only made me laugh, it made me cry and gave me an opportunity to look
into the mirror of my own soul.
But there's more to the book than that. A wonderful story, Laurie Brenner is a true
storyteller that doesn't bog you down with words that have no meaning -- she gives you a
succulent story and saves the best parts for last. The story is unforgettable and you find
it staying with you days after you've put it down.
I didn't think I'd feel this way, but I didn't want the story to end. This is Laurie
Brenner's first fiction novella, and I can't wait to read what unfolds next from her
writings. She's an authentic storyteller, rare these days, and Changing Planes is
delightful and easy read for any pallet.
