The book I’m writing about would make a great gift any time of the year.

Do you reread books? It may sound odd but I love to reread a favorite book. I like to re-read novels. I watch favorite films over and over. Erika and I have watched Moonstruck together easily 20 times. Surely that’s not a radical idea, not when we listen to songs and symphonies over and over. The structure of a good book, like a sonata or a film can (should?) be something as delicate & beautiful as a song or a symphony. You taste it the first time, then you’re able to anticipate with delight what’s coming, to celebrate it, knowing what’s coming when you go through it again. The enjoyment is not the same as the first time because there’s a layer of expectation added.

I keep reading and re-reading Andrew Smith’s a life in motion, a book of poems. The poems are like songs so that makes sense.

It’s a bit dog-eared, but well-loved.

I met Andrew in his role as accountant, someone whose powerful story is captured in his book Rebuilding Janise: A Family’s First Year After A Stroke. It’s a great book.

Now Andrew has written a poetry book, exploring the implications of life. The rewards are unexpected, given what I learned about poems and literature in university. I obtained the book, curious about what poems Andrew might write, but also continuing my fascination with the story of Andrew and his family. I first opened it feeling I was responding to Rebuilding Janise, a book that reads like a study in romance, an exploration of the meaning of love.

I remember asking Andrew if he had seen the film 50 First Dates, which is one of the most romantic films I know of. Yes I know, it’s corny but I love this film, which I suppose I’ve seen 5 times. It’s funny in places, romantic and beautiful in others. I asked Andrew about it because the plight of Lucy (Drew Barrymore) who has had a brain injury that wipes out her recent memory every day reminds me a bit of what Andrew told us about Janise, whose stroke has impacted her understanding of the world. It’s not nearly the same, but I see parallels between the challenges faced by Henry (Adam Sandler) and Andrew.

It’s not easy being Andrew.

Now the poems of a life in motion are a bit like a sequel, even though they’re poems. Yet they’re more than that. Andrew takes us along on a meditation on the meaning of love and life, each poem a narrow slice. What’s wonderful about the book is how each poem takes me into that life, and how each time I re-read (I think I’m on re-read #3 right now) I get a deeper glimpse.

As a husband, as a lover, as a father, there are roles we play that are nearly universal. So of course when a father reads a poem about fatherhood hopefully it says something to you about your own experience. Ditto for love, marriage, I did not expect that Andrew would hit it out of the park so often in this book. While some CDs I have consist of songs & tracks, where I skip ahead, not bothering with every song but having favorite tracks. I’m reading this book cover to cover each time.

You might enjoy it.