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Mark David Gerson
a book bubble about
The Emmeline Papers
Literature & Fiction
Author Insight
Is There Such a Thing as "Wrong" Choice?
We all make the occasional choice that we later later regret. But what if it wasn't a "wrong choice"? What if there's no such thing as a "wrong choice"? Sarah and Sadie can't answer those questions with any more certainty than you or I can. But I do know that in my own life, every seemingly wrong turn has, in the end, had some rightness about it. It may not be immediately apparent. But when I look for it, it’s always there. Given Sadie’s history of poor choices (even more of them are chronicled in “After Sara’s Year”), it was hard for the author in me to imagine how there could be any rightness about them as I began “The Emmeline Papers.” Yet, no one was more amazed than I was to discover that there was! I love creative surprises like that, which is why I avoid outlines. I’d much rather discover the story and its characters the same way you do: from page to page!
Book Excerpt
The Emmeline Papers
“Maybe those weren’t wrong choices,” she said. “Maybe there’s no such thing as wrong choices. Maybe one person’s ‘wrong’ choices make it so that another person can make ‘right’ choices.”
“That’s too deep for me,” Sadie said. “Like a riddle that has no answer. I made wrong choices. Esther made wrong choices. Are you saying your Sammy who hit you was a right choice?”
Sarah considered Sadie’s question. It had not been a happy marriage and Sammy had hit her more than once. “I know it doesn’t look that way,” she said at last. “But without Sammy, I never would have had my Morty. He may have been different from other boys and he may have died too young…” She sighed. “He was no mistake. For nineteen years he was the greatest gift God could have given me. Without a Sammy, there might also never have been a Jack. He was God’s second-best gift to me, even if he died too soon too. And Esther? It’s because of her choices that Bernie is the wonderful boy he is. It’s because of her choices that there’s a Sara’s Year. It’s because of her choices that you and me could be friends. Her choices weren’t wrong. Some of them were sad and made her unhappy. But wrong? I used to think so. Now, I’m not so sure.”
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