Time Traveler's Wife

Two weeks ago I started and finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife. It was seriously one of the best books I have ever read. At first I was hesitant to read a story of a husband who "disappeared" on his wife who loved him so much. I quickly found myself wrapped up in the love story of Henry and Clare. I didn't want this book to end, I was actually sad feeling when I got to the end of the book. I'm going to talk a little about the book and the movie in this post and a few of the things that I got out of reading the book. If you don't want to know too much about the book you may not want to read this just yet.
For those of you who don't know about The Time Traveler's Wife I will briefly fill you in. It is an amazing love story of two people Henry and Clare. At first the book is kind of confusing so you have to watch the dates carefully, but then it is easy to figure out what is going on. Henry has a rare genetic disorder that forces him to time travel. He never knows when, where, or for how long he is going to disappear. Clare meets Henry one day and has known him her entire life, although Henry has not yet met Clare. Once the two of them met Henry begins to travel to Clare's childhood and teenage years. During some of Henry's visits when Clare is young he gives her a list of important dates to watch for. Clare writes these dates in her diary so she doesn't forget them. Eventually Henry and Clare become married. The marriage is difficult on Clare because she never knows when Henry will disappear or for how long he will be gone. Some times it's only a few hours, other times it is for days. Clare is constantly waiting on Henry. One thing remains constant for Clare and that is the love she feels for Henry. Henry is her one and only true love. When Henry and Clare decide to start a family they have several troubles. Clare has six miscarriages believed to be caused my the same genetic disorder as Henry. One day Henry travels to the future and sees their five year old daughter that they will one day have together. Their daughter tells Henry some disturbing news at that visit. Something that both Henry and Clare know is going to happen, but something that neither of them want to think about. The relationship between Henry and Clare continues, and events in their life unfold. However, no matter what happens in their life together, you can feel how much these two people love each other.

I cried when reading this book and I bawled when I watched the movie. (By the way the book is so much better than the movie.) When reading about Henry and Clare, you can feel the love that they had for each other. At one point in the book and in the movie Clare tells Henry that while their life is hard because she never knows when he is going to disappear she would never change one thing about their life and she tells him how much she loved being married to him. I think this was probably one of my favorite parts in the book. It kind of reiterated some of the feeling I have for Shawn. I would never have changed a second of our life together, our life was amazing and wonderful. Shawn and I learned things from each other just like Henry and Clare did. I too loved being married to Shawn, and even if I would have known he was going to die when we got married, I still would have married him because I loved him with all of my heart and soul. Even though the pain of losing him is the worst pain I have felt in my entire life, I can't imagine not loving him either. I had twelve amazing years with Shawn. I've said it before, it's better to have loved and lost, than never loved at all. That is Clare's feeling and mine as well.

SPOILER ALERT:
Another part in the book that hit close to home for me came in the form of a note from Henry to Clare, to be opened after his death. I didn't have a letter like this from Shawn but I can almost hear him telling this to me. Henry wrote a note to Clare explaining how much he loved her. He told her how much her love meant to him, that their love was the only real thing in his life that he could really ever trust. Henry goes on to tell Clare that he can't stand the thought of her waiting for him any longer. Henry tells Clare to stop waiting and to be free. He tells her to put his memory deep inside her and then go out and to live life again. He tells Clare one more time that she was his everything. Like I said, I don't have this type of note from Shawn but I can almost hear him telling me the same thing. I know Shawn would want me to go on and continue to live my life, he would want me to be happy. As I read this part in the book the tears were streaming down my cheeks, watching it in the movie I was all out bawling.

This was one of the best books I have ever read before. It is a true love story. It makes you laugh and cry. When reading you get sucked into the lives of Henry and Clare.

When I was done reading this book I could not stop thinking about the love Henry and Clare shared. It was a magical kind of love that only two soul mates are lucky enough to find. It sounds kind of funny because they are obviously fictional characters, but the author did a wonderful job of engulfing us into their lives.

After I read this book I also got a bit of peace from it. Every time Henry would disappear Clare would have to hang on the the memories that she had of Henry because she didn't know when he would be back again. I have done the same, I know Shawn is not coming back to me. So instead I remember all the good times we had, I remember the memories that the two of us made. Now these memories are able to bring a smile to my heart and to my face. I think this book is not only a wonderful love story about two people but at the same time it packs a big message and that is....

True love between two people never dies. People we love are always with us in our lives. They are with us every step of the way, they are with us in our hearts and in our memories. The people we love are always with us...even when we can't see or touch them.

How many of you have read this book? What are your thoughts?