We all yearn for closure. Twenty plus years ago we fell in love with Charly and Sam. We laughed as they dated and went fishing. “Do you want to know how I caught this fish? I used peanut butter on the hook. It sticks well, and it does not – does not, I repeat – cause little fish cavities.” We cried as they tried to say goodbye. “Mommy, Adam, please say it. Mommy. Please, baby, please say my name. I’m your mommy. Please remember me.” As a teenager I tried to be more like Charly and when she died it was like a real friend had passed away.
In “Sam,” once again, we grieve with a friend as he struggles to move on. We laugh as he starts to date Lara. “Sam, look away. I don’t want you to see this. I’m about to set a world record in taco snarfing.” We rejoice as Lara and Sam marry and when they overcome all initial struggles, we are happy to leave them – secure in the knowledge that their relationship will survive.
But yet, the desire to check in with our friends and find out how they are doing never goes away. In Adam’s Story, we renew old friendships. We remember what we loved about Charly and admired about Lara. We follow Adam as he struggles to find out who he is 20 years after the death of his first mother.
Adam is serving a mission when he reintroduces himself to his grandparents – Charly’s parents. He learns about the mother he never knew as he strives to build relationships with them and his fellow missionaries. After returning home, he tries to find his place in the world, and understand who he is, where he belongs and what he wants to be. And at the end, we feel like we can truly close the book on this family and walk away. “Finally, I know who I am.”
Jack Weyland does an excellent job in capturing the struggle that we all go through in determining who we are as a person and who we are trying to be. While not as humorous as the previous books, Adam’s Story, nevertheless, is a moving tale that will affect us all.
We all yearn for closure. Twenty plus years ago we fell in love with Charly and Sam. We laughed as they dated and went fishing. “Do you want to know how I caught this fish? I used peanut butter on the hook. It sticks well, and it does not – does not, I repeat – cause little fish cavities.” We cried as they tried to say goodbye. “Mommy, Adam, please say it. Mommy. Please, baby, please say my name. I’m your mommy. Please remember me.” As a teenager I tried to be more like Charly and when she died it was like a real friend had passed away. 