the river why

i finished the river why today. i read the last twenty or so pages in the garden at phipps. it was lovely. such a fantastic writer. the book is about fly fishing, but like the brothers k and baseball, it's actually about so much more. i know teresa is on the middle of reading it and some of you may someday want to read it so i won't go into any of the plot, but i will say this: david james duncan makes me yearn to be a more spiritual person. there are so many fantastic ideas about god and amazing examples of spiritual living (i hate how that sounds but i don't know how else to phrase it) and loving others. but he never really nails anything down so his writing doesn't come across preachy or religious. the ending of the river why made me terribly sad that i have cut out much of my "spiritual life" and caused me to long for a time when i do feel that connection to my inner self and to something greater than me. i don't know how to go about that at the moment, but i am inspired to start to try. i wish i could better phrase what he makes me feel and what i gain from reading his books without sounding so trite and flakey. i guess the best way i could sum it up is to say that his books are about life and he makes me want to live it.