Shine decides “she would make a family like she and her daddy had made moonshine, putting together a bunch of unlikely ingredients, things that didn’t come from the same place, or naturally go together. Stir it all up and see what happened. Test it. Taste it. And then crank up the heat. Because that was life, wasn’t it? The fire that you couldn’t always control. But what you made of it, what you did with it … that could be something special. Something you could see through—stunningly clear and shining and powerful. The Strong stuff.” This metaphor for the complicated ways in which families are created, tested and constantly changed seems appropriate for most of our families. Do you agree?
I had marked this section, because I wanted to come back to it. I do think the best relationships (family, partners, friends) are the ones that have been tested and experienced struggles. You learn and appreciate the person even more. It also allows for people to grow and change. I had never thought about families this way, so I appreciated the description.
I agree 100% with this metaphor and have re-read this passage several times. The ephemeral nature of life itself means that familial relationships are an integral part of our uncertain and ever-changing world. This thought-provoking metaphor reminded me of a quote from a poem by the Persian poet Rumi entitled The Guest House, in which he asserts that being human is a guest house where we need to welcome and entertain all the new arrivals, however unexpected. “ Be grateful for whatever comes - even if they are a crowd of sorrows- because each has been sent as a GUIDE from beyond.” This is how the Strong family lived their lives and and created something truly special and unique.