A HALTED HEART

My New York cousin made her one and only visit to Memphis the summer of 1980. Anytime folks would visit Elvis' hometown, they would request to go see Graceland,🏡 Beale Street, and The Peabody hotel.🏨 But not my cousin. By gosh, she drove all the way down from Staten Island, New York to see one thing only--the Mighty Mississippi.🌊 Her goal was to watch it flow, and hear it roar. 

Standing at the river's edge, my cousin stood awestruck, like an astronaut standing on the moon. That's when she took out a small Mason jar, and dog-gone-it if she didn't scoop up a glass full of the murky, brown water to take home as a souvenir. Muddy river water collected in a jar--that was a real head scratcher for me. 

As for me, I was just as awestruck that my New York cousin cared enough to drive alll the way from New York down to Memphis, Tennessee for a visit. I didn't care if she came only to see the Mississippi, I was just glad she was there. 

Maybe growing up around the river, it loses its novelty. But like all native Memphians, I knew to respect that river and what it could do. The Mississippi is alive with strong currents and rough waters, and at times, it's angry😠 with the world with its "don't-mess-with-me" kind of mood. For sure, it's not a safe place to take a swim.🏊

In 1812, the river got hit by a strong earthquake, and lo and behold if that river didn't switch direction and flow in the opposite direction. It was as if God, the maestro of the universe, waved his hand and commanded the river to perform the unexpected.

When I read author, Genevra Bonati, A Halted Heart, I thought about the river and how emotions sometimes flow through us like the Mississippi. At times, they're unruly and angry like with, Caitlynn Grant, the protagonist in the story. In college, Caitlynn had planned out her entire future, the way she had planned out her classes. Everything orderly and in place. But then. . .the unexpected happens, and her life takes a hit. An earthquake to the heart, leaving Caitlynn wounded and hurt. Gradually, she becomes as empty as a dead tree𐂷 in winter. With feelings that flow toward one direction only. Revenge.

Years later, the unexpected shakes up her world. And when the maestro gets involved, get ready, as life switches in a different direction, and new emotions begin to flow. 

                                            A Halted Heart

                                           By: Genevra Bonati

Author: Anna J. Wise

Mercy Me 📚