The secret to happiness and peace is letting every situation be what it is, instead of what you think it should be.
I got to sit down with an old family friend, Denise Gray Meehan, author of the book Bridge Walker. The book is a memoir of Denise’s life spanning 7 decades starting when she was 7 and ending at 70. It starts off with tales of growing up with four sisters and her parents in an almost storybook like existence in a more innocent time, taking us through the 50’s to today.
The book follows Denise as she goes to college, get’s married, has children and moves to the east end of Long Island to the hamlet of Hampton Bays. In between are personal stories from her life that resonate because they are honest and real kids, marriage, divorce, love, finding out who you really are and what it is you want out of life.
In an age of social media where everyone wants you to see the highlight reel of their lives, Denise let’s you know, life definitely doesn’t always turn out the way you think it’s going to or "should", and that’s ok.
If you live on the east end chances are you’re a Bridge Walker. The way Denise intertwines her daily walks with stories from her past is beautiful.
At one point in the book as she is walking up the steep bridge road she notices a woman running by, hauling ass with her ear buds in listening to some pounding beat to motivate her up the hill. The correlation she makes to the different times in life and how once an avid runner, she now enjoys the walk and listening to the melodic sounds of the nature that surrounds her on the bridge. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. We’ll all get there, its ok to respond to life and take a walk.
I loved reconnecting with an adult from my childhood that I always remembered as warm and funny. Denise was exactly as I remembered her! The book is beautiful and the cover photo taken by Denise’s husband Terry Meehan is a beautiful shot of the Ponquogue Bridge in Hampton Bays where the Meehan’s live and the bridge that Denise walks everyday.
To get the book you can go to
http://www.lulu.com/shop/denise-gray-meehan/bridge-walker/paperback/product-23036208.html
