“Calling them dreams let him edge as close as he could to what they were: sensations - experiences, even that visited him as he slept and faded after he woke, only to reemerge in the minutes or hours or days to come.”
As we go by our regular lives, at some point or the other, we’ve all had that sense of déjà vu or felt a premonition. Some moments are happier than others. We always hope that our dreams come true and take shape in our lives, But what if they actually do come true, including all your nightmares. What would you do then?
David Winkler, a Geoscientist who studies the intricacies of snow crystals, which started with a very special book his mother gifted him when he was a child. Along with the book, he also discovered another gift he had within himself. At that very young age, Winkler realized the dreams he had at night, came true. And this is something he would have to live with and will always be a part of who he is.
He dreamt he would meet a woman he would fall in love with, at the supermarket, so when he did see Sandy at the store, his memory played back in rewind, remembering every single detail about that moment from his dream. Soon enough, they were in love, having a baby and moving out of Anchorage, to start their lives together. As their lives slowly started to unpack and settle in, Winkler had a dream. A dream where his 2-month-old daughter, Grace dies in a flood that hits their town. His mind was spiraling, he barely slept, Sandy occasionally found him sleepwalking with the baby in his arms. Seeing Winkler losing his mind like this, she was afraid of what his crazy theories would do to them. The day the dark clouds pour in with the heavy rains, Winkle leaves Sandy and Grace behind and takes off. As terribly heartbreaking this was for him, he hoped this would at least save their lives; Grace’s life.
“Did time move forward, through people, or did people move through it, like clouds across the sky?”
Over the next 2 decades or so, he builds a life in the Caribbean Islands and starts working at an Inn with his friend Felix. Winkler met Felix in his early days when he was finding his way through the island. Felix, Soma, and their young daughter Naaliyah become his family. Perhaps, a bond he couldn’t build with his own. The bond between Naaliyah and Winkler grows into an incredible friendship. A relationship he held close to his heart.
This book takes us through Winkler’s journey, with its roadblocks and sharp turns, as he comes to terms with his truth. 27 years later, he decides to look for the family he left behind. He doesn’t know how to find them or where to start. But with uncertainty and hope in his heart, he returns.
‘All The Lights We Cannot See’ by Doerr is one of my favourite books. Precisely for the same reason, I devoured ‘About Grace’; because of its intricately woven descriptions. Though it has a slightly slow start, Doerr’s writing has an alluring charm to it, which makes you want to keep going. The book is divided into 6 parts, and each part felt like it had a purpose to the choices Winkler was making. The sad and heart-wrenching emotions of this book, tend to tug at your heartstrings occasionally. And before you know it, you’re immersed in the book completely, waiting to see where Winkler takes you next.
“He wondered if such things were born into people. If perhaps we cannot alter who we are - if the place we come from dictates the place we will end up.”