“We all have thoughts that shame us.”
Miracle Creek, Angie Kim
This simple statement reveals a truth about human nature. None of us are perfect and those moments of frustration, anger, fear, loneliness—the list is long—can spark a chain reaction of events we never expected.
Are we so consumed by our own lives and challenges, our personal disappointments or unrealized expectations, that our judgment becomes so clouded, we fail to consider the feelings of those we love?
Miracle Creek delves into the lives of several people affected by the explosion of a hyberbolic chamber that leaves two people dead. The layers of secrets and self-soothing justification in the aftermath of this explosion has left the lives of many people in shambles.
You can empathize with why a person may decide to seek experimental medical treatments to for a range of medical conditions, autism, cerebral palsy or infertility. As the trial for Elizabeth, the mother accused of starting the fire that resulted in the death of her autistic son, unfolds, you question yourself.
What are your expectations or hopes for parenting? When your child doesn’t reach the milestone that other people’s children do, those “normal” children. What about being pressured to become a parent by your spouse when it’s not something you’re sure you want to be?
The pacing of this book carries you along and as I learned about Young, Mary, Pak, Elizabeth, Teresa — I asked myself can we fully understand the decisions someone else makes. Does a person get pushed to a limit and they start to crack imperceptibly to the people around them, culminating in something catastrophic?
Then regrets for what’s happened and those lost, can never be undone. Miracle Creek forces you to look at life through a variety of people and circumstances. When you turn the last page, I hope we all appreciate the gift of life more and try our best to cultivate greater empathy to the people who are different but at heart, are people, with shortcomings and feelings, too.
To Angie Kim, thank you for sharing this book with all of us. I’d also like to thank her for interacting with me every time I shared / posted this book on Instagram. I Her honest thoughts on Matt made me read with an awareness that was justified, knowing she despised him too! I suspected I wouldn’t like him the more I learned and I was right! Kim said she despised one of her own characters. Could someone please get him away from everybody!
Overall, a page turner with human emotions, flawed yet honest, laid bare in the characters, and in your heart.
Books By the Cup 
This sounds like a beautiful but tough read. I’m so glad you engaged with it so deeply.
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There are was a lot in this book one could talk about. There was a review I read on IG that did highlight something I forgot to mention or ask when I wrote this, raising children with disabilities. The reviewer highlighted how insensitive she felt the author writes about them, that it’s stereotypical in some ways so I was curious if anyone else could sheds me light on it
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