I’ll send you all my dreams in a letter…

This post was inspired by The Mapmaker’s Children by Sarah McCoy, a novel about two women who are connected by an Underground Railroad doll. Join From Left to Write on May 19th as we discuss The Mapmaker’s Children. 

Since I’m currently on my OB/GYN rotation, babies, fertility, lady parts, and all that goodness have been stuck on my mind like no other these past few weeks (if only because it’s the bulk of what I’ve been studying). So it was mildly fitting that The Mapmaker’s Children paralleled and drew connections between two women who both couldn’t have children. It’s set in two different time periods, and I looked forward to reading the parts on Sarah Brown every time. (In my opinion,) Eden, the protagonist in “present-day” is not quite so likable.

Strong female characters are awesome in my book, and I loved that Sarah so staunchly stood up for what she believed in, and how she held fast to her morals and her beliefs throughout. I think Sarah McCoy did an amazing job in writing this.

I’ll be honest though–this book broke my heart. (Yes, I’m a total sap. I blame all the hormones I’ve been surrounded by on a daily basis.) It was beautifully written, and since I don’t like spoiling stories for people, if you plan on reading this book and don’t want a part of the story ruined for you, mayyybe think about not reading the rest of this post. (I went off-roading on a major tangent, but still.)

For everyone else, let’s keep on truckin’!

This book really drives home the significance of communication, and how important that is in relationships, in working with others, and in meeting a common goal.

When I got stuck in my first relationship and couldn’t leave, I committed my thoughts to paper and didn’t tell anyone what was going on. I’ve kept journals for most of my life, so writing was what I’d always been familiar with, and it became my escape. I was (and probably still am) terrible with communicating, especially through the spoken word, so it’s something I continue to work on every day.

It made me recall once upon a time in another life, when I was trading emails much like she was sending letters back and forth with Ricky.

I’ve known all along that you and I are/were basically best friends and have pretty much a perfect connection that goes far and beyond anything I’ve ever felt with anyone.”

(That isn’t from the book, but it could’ve been.) It made me wonder…if she’d just voiced her concerns and told him from the start that she couldn’t have children, would things have turned out differently?

But that’s easy for me to say, and much easier said than done.

I was incredibly impressed by how well they worked with each other through all the hardships that came their way, even despite the misunderstandings that I feel would cause most present-day individuals to react in a much more immature fashion.

I’ve never understood the reasoning behind getting angry with someone for telling the truth in response to something you’ve asked them.

Long long ago, I adopted the habit of never asking someone something unless I really wanted to hear the response, and perhaps that was the same for Sarah. Maybe leaving it as it was would hurt less than telling him and potentially being rejected based on that, but as a bystander, I really feel that finding that sort of connection with someone is incredibly rare. When/If you find that, you want to hold on to it.

• Have you heard of or read The Mapmaker’s Children?
• How do you best communicate with others? Is it through your actions, your words, in writing…?
• How do you decide whether something is worth fighting for, or letting go?
• Do you know what song the title of this post is from? :] I’ve heard this song so many times but never knew the title!