Lost and Found by Brooke Davis

The release of Lost and Found in Australia has been surrounded by a LOT of hype (click here for one such article).

But I put off reading Lost and Found for two other reasons.

I thought it might be too light for my tastes and too sad.

But, I have recently had another brush with the randomness of death and suddenly Lost and Found seemed like the only choice.

Lost and Found is lightly told and it is sad, but it is also engaging and wise and very, very human.

As Davis takes her characters on a journey of discovery from lost to found & from sadness to acceptance to renewal. We, the readers also (re)discover the fragility, poignancy & purpose of life.

Davis explores the very personal loneliness & terror of grief. Despair, anger & guilt overwhelm her characters. But eventually, tentatively, hope, love & friendship triumph.

"How do you get old without letting sadness become everything?"

Is the common refrain throughout this story.

A part of me was left wondering how could someone so young write such profound, insightful truths. How could someone so young know so much about living and life and aging...but of course, coming to face to face with death will do all that to anyone. A close, personal, bitter brush with death changes you.

It happens to us all at some point; some sooner rather than later, but one day we all experience the randomness of life and death. One day we all get to experience how lives can be forever changed by one accident, one moment in time.
There comes a day when we all have to learn how to live with the sadness of losing those we love.

What we all learn eventually, the answer we all come to in our way, in our time, of course, is simply to live.

One day it will happen to all of us, but for now, all we can do is live...and love. That's all we can do.

But I'll leave the last words to Millie, Davis' young protagonist,

"You're all going to die. It's okay."