-
Patricia Reding
a book bubble about
Ephemeral and Fleeting
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Author Insight
When You Can't Save Another
Many problems that people face can be resolved with a handful of twenty (or fifty!) dollar bills. But when that won't work, when someone chooses to do something harmful to themselves--as Trixie and her friends did in the paragraphs leading up to this exchange--they will do as they choose in spite of you. Hence, a saying I've used many times over the years: "You cannot save someone from himself" (or herself, as the case may be). If a person you care for chooses a bad course, you can listen to his woes, offer advice, suggest options to try, and/or sympathize with him. But you cannot stop him. People are free to destroy themselves. You cannot sit by someone's side every minute of every day to be certain she doesn't use that substance, or engage in that activity, or put herself in that dangerous situation, and so on. At first blush, this idea might make you feel helpless. But resting on the truth--that you can't stop someone else--can free you. It can allow you to stop obsessing over things, wondering what you could have done differently. So when I face these things, I do what I can--and then I step back because, in truth, I know that I cannot stop someone else. Do you agree?
Book Excerpt
Ephemeral and Fleeting
With that, she walked away, her friends at her heels. Only Trixie stole a quick look back.
Jerrett stepped up, Bane at his side. “Well, I guess it’s like I always say, it seems everyone carries within him, the seeds of his own destruction. And in the end, you can’t save someone from himself—or herself—as the case may be.”
As the crowd started dispersing, Bane shot out into the darkness. Moments later he returned with one of the young woman at his side.
Approaching her, Mara recognized Trixie. “You’ve decided not to go, then?” she asked.
Not able to meet the Oathtaker’s eye, the girl nodded. “I just want to go home.”
“Where is that?”
Pulling her cloak closed more tightly, Trixie shuffled her feet. Then, shrugging, she pointed in the direction from whence she’d come.
“Well, why don’t you stay with us for tonight then? We’ll see you back home safely in the morning.”
Amazon
Barnes&Noble
Apple Books
Kobo
Click Follow to receive emails when this author adds content on Bublish
Comment on this Bubble
Your comment and a link to this bubble will also appear in your Facebook feed.