The Lavender Hour

This book handled a difficult theme with devotion and grace. It was like a gentle rain that whipped to a storm in the night, only to bring a gentle and promising dawn. To say that this is a book about the right to live or the right to die is as great an injustice as defining a person by the label of a disease rather than the full measure of who they really are and how they live their life. It can at times be a sad book, but for me it was life affirming.

THE LAVENDER HOUR by Anne D. LeClaire May 23, 2007 Rating: 5 Stars THE LAVENDER HOUR by Anne D. LeClaire is going to be one of my favorite books from 2007. The author takes on a controversial theme, and writes the story in flashbacks, as the main character, Jessie, relates to the reader the mistakes she's made to bring her to this point in time. Jessie's life has come to a turning point, and while being in-between jobs, she decides to help out as a hospice caretaker, working under the guidance of her good friend Faye. Faye trusts Jessie, but unfortunately Jessie from the onset makes decisions about her first patient without regard to the consequences. Her patient is Luke Ryder, a man that has only a short time left, but despite these facts, Jessie latches on to him and against the rules of the hospice, she begins to fall in love with him. It's one thing after another as Jessie breaks all the rules given to her. The point of the story is to lead us to the finale, where she has lost most of the support she had initially when she first came on board as a hospice caretaker. Faye, however, is really the only person that continues to support Jessie, despite all the wrong decisions she's made throughout. I was on the edge of my seat as I tried to predict what would happen to Jessie at the very end, and whether she would be sent to prison for all she had done, in the name of love. The interesting fact of THE LAVENDER HOUR is that the story is told by Jessie, and it's all in hindsight. Jessie already knows her outcome, and she tells the story to the reader, knowing the mistakes she's made had led her to this point in time. This adds tension and suspense to the book, and I thought it was done very well. LAVENDER HOUR is highly recommended.

I've read all of Anne LeClaire's book and this is her best work yet. Ms. LeClaire's insight into the human soul as demonstrated through her characters' development shows an intuition of the human spirit few writers can express. The result is that the readers are presented with characters with whom they can immediately identify, empathize and grow close to. The storyline flows so easily and is so compelling, I found I didn't want to put the book down and didn't want it to end. Yet even after the cover is closed, the story lingers on and the thoughts it provokes turn over and over in our minds. Put this on the top of your list for this summer's "must read"!

I've loved all of Anne's books, but The Lavender Hour is now my favorite. It's the story of an artist in her thirties who creates jewelry from human hair--very cool descriptions of this craft that made me want to see it in person--and who is a cancer survivor,trying to reconcile her life after the dreaded "downsizing" that isn't doing our current education system any favors. Jess moves to Cape Cod to regroup and then signs on to attend a man in hospice and begins to love him, knowing the feelings will be intense but their time together bitterly brief. This book took me to such surprising places. It was vividly told with realistic setting, and I could see each character clearly as if I were visiting, bringing along muffins or a loaf of bread. Without giving away the plot, I just want to say that I would love to read a book about EACH of the characters, and in fact I slowed my usual reading pace so as not to have to say good-bye to them too quickly. I wanted to be with them, go to the beach, eat lobster rolls, sip coffee, walk the dog (Rocker is such a great dog) and listen to Jessie tell me how her life is going now. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a story about real people demonstrating the ordinary grace required to get through real life situations. What it says about love I will be mulling over for a long time. Great read.

Having passed the mystical five year mark of surviving cancer, but recently losing her Virginia teaching position and with no male attachments, thirty-two years old Jessie Long feels a need to start over. Ironically as she draws that conclusion the radio plays her life record with the other sex, Johnny Lee's oldie "Lookin for Love in All the Wrong Places. Jessie decides to move into the lavender smelling vacant family-owned cottage on Cape Cod. Jessie volunteers to work at a local hospice, but conceals her cancer history from everyone. She is assigned to assist dying forty-five years old fisherman Luke Ryder. As they spend his last moments together, they fall in love. When the pancreatic cancer becomes too painful, she assists him with an overdose of pills. Not given time to mourn her loss, Jessie stands trial for murder as assisted suicide in Massachusetts is against the law and Luke's acrimonious daughter Paige, jealous of the intruder's time with her dad especially at the end, wants her hung. This is an interesting character study that transcends the grieving process by looking at the complete person that Jessie is. Her decisions to abet Luke are not easy life and death choices though that it is black and white as far as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. No pampering to the right to die with dignity crowd or to thou shall live regardless of the quality of life commandment crew. Instead readers obtain a discerning look at loving another human enough to sacrifice your own well being by assisting them with something that goes against your very need of more time with them. Harriet Klausner