What do You think about Range Of Motion (2004)?
This was easy reading.I felt it was great that this woman had such faith that her husband would come out of his coma. She did so many things that were "outside the box" to try and bring him back. I also liked the nostalgia in the book, it brought back many memories - a good place to springboard from in writing my own personal history. I appreciated the friendship from her friend Alice. I think anyone in our Church and community can appreciate all she did and was willing to do for her friend Lainey. I felt like the ghost woman in this story took the place of the Holy Ghost or of any spiritual promptings and I guess that is one step closer than most stories have in them. But there was no acknowledgment of turning to a higher power for help or inspiration from Lainey (even though it seemed that she was certainly receiving inspiration), or anyone else in this story and no gratitude expressed for blessings or help from on high. I gave the book 3 stars.
—Janice
Range of motion was a quick, easy, and pleasant read. The premise of a loving family whose lives are disrupted by a freak accident and how they cope with it until it ends (no spoiler alert!). The young husband and father of 2 young girls is in a coma as result of snow sliding off the roof and hitting his head as he is walking to his office. The wife does her best a keeping his energy alive for herself and her daughters through site, sounds, scents. Her strength during this time and her reminisces of their times together demonstrate how much in love they were, and as you read you want to have what they have – it is a fun love – they sing to each other, they play love games. There were no surprises and while the accident is unfortunate, the wife has good friends support, and develops storyline with a previous resident of the house, which offered her solace. The medical profession of the nursing homes was shown in a very good light, and I was relieved to read that. I think she did a good job coping, but nothing extraordinary. She was committed, steadfast, and loyal. The range of motion analogy was understandable but not memorable – I finished the book immediately after our meeting and promptly forgot the title – so when I reviewed what we were to read, I thought what was that book about – I had to open the book to refresh my memory. I read the author’s comment and she even had a preferred title – Telling songs. That would have made more impact for me. I would give this book 3 of 5, and most likely wouldn’t bring it up in conversation, there just doesn’t seem to have enough tension or new material. I would have no problems recommending for a quick summer read, and that is what we planned when the book lovers selected it.
—Margaret
This is a story about love and a story about friendship. Again, Berg's writing is perfect. There are always so many quotes and moments from her books that stay with me, but for this book I absolutely love when Lainey is telling Alice about her college roommate who always wore black and was always depressed. She disliked Lainey so much because Lainey was an optimist, and when Lainey admits that every morning when she wakes up she is happy and excited to see what the day is going to bring- she can see that her roommate thinks she is a jerk. So Lainey looks at her and says "Look. For me, the glass is a fucking waterfall. Get used to it" (page 204) That was the perfect thing to say. And it describes Lainey so well, because even though she is human, and has fears and even resentments about her husband being in a coma- she always genuinely believes he is going to wake up and she never stops doing all that she can (from talking to him to bringing him food he can smell) to make sure that he does.
—Maria
