Sunshine

“Think!” I beg my mom.

I know if she digs around in her brain deep enough she'll come up with an excellent suggestion. A book she read a long time ago that I won’t come across in the bookstore or library because it’s out of print.

A moving book.

“Something you read when I was kid that really stuck with you,” I push.

It has to be based on a true story. Like when she recommended Eric by Doris Lund.

“Oh, I can’t remember. Sunshine,” she finally says.

Sunshine!

I Google it, Ebay it, and Amazon.com it until I finally figure out which book she’s talking about (available for $0.01 and up).

Arrived in the mail today. I read the first line (“It’s funny how you can tell when people are lying to you.”). Closed the book. There’s work to do first (writing, editing, deadlines, etc.), and I can tell if I start it, I won’t sleep, eat, or pee until I finish.

Thanks, mom!