A review by hyebitshines
This Star Won't Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl by Lori Earl, Wayne Earl, Esther Earl
4.0
I am a pessimist. I'm always waiting for the next big disaster to strike and even my happiest moments are undermined with an anxiety that never quite goes away. I think that's what made this such an emotional read for me (I mean, the sucky cancer part didn't help either). Esther Earl lived and died within sixteen, too-short years, but she left behind a story: the all-too common misfortune of childhood cancer turned into an inspiration by one compassionate, God-centered optimist.
One moment that made me go whoa was when when Esther did her "thankful" video and amidst her rambling, she said, "I don't know... I might have died a different way!" Her optimism made me rethink the whole cliche half-full vs. half-empty glass analogy... because Esther shows that even if things look hopeless in the present, there is always something for which you can be happy about.
Esther always wrote letters and cards to her family members, saying the simple, but easily forgotten "thank you". She drew beautifully and her writing was so honest- By the end of this memoir, I felt like I, too, had the honor of knowing her. I certainly didn't expect to cry or learn as much as I did, initially drawn to the book for its association with John Green.
Most importantly, I learned that saying "I can't" is a privilege. Esther just did, without overthinking the logistics of success or talent. She drew and wrote for herself, her expression, and those she loved. She said "I can" through her journals, although cancer cut that momentum short. The little pessimist writing this review walks away from this book a little lighter, a little less burdened because if you look hard enough, there can be more happy found despite the overwhelming world suck.
Thank you, Esther Earl, the Earl family, and all her friends, for being the not-so-down-your-throat inspiration I needed in the frenzy of school and "starting new chapters" crap. Rest in peace to the awesome girl who continues to fight world suck with the lives she touches ; v ; I shall indeed someday, somehow find my happy as Esther so simply put it:
"Just be happy, and if you can't be happy, do things that make you happy, or do nothing with the people that make you happy."
Fin.
One moment that made me go whoa was when when Esther did her "thankful" video and amidst her rambling, she said, "I don't know... I might have died a different way!" Her optimism made me rethink the whole cliche half-full vs. half-empty glass analogy... because Esther shows that even if things look hopeless in the present, there is always something for which you can be happy about.
Esther always wrote letters and cards to her family members, saying the simple, but easily forgotten "thank you". She drew beautifully and her writing was so honest- By the end of this memoir, I felt like I, too, had the honor of knowing her. I certainly didn't expect to cry or learn as much as I did, initially drawn to the book for its association with John Green.
Most importantly, I learned that saying "I can't" is a privilege. Esther just did, without overthinking the logistics of success or talent. She drew and wrote for herself, her expression, and those she loved. She said "I can" through her journals, although cancer cut that momentum short. The little pessimist writing this review walks away from this book a little lighter, a little less burdened because if you look hard enough, there can be more happy found despite the overwhelming world suck.
Thank you, Esther Earl, the Earl family, and all her friends, for being the not-so-down-your-throat inspiration I needed in the frenzy of school and "starting new chapters" crap. Rest in peace to the awesome girl who continues to fight world suck with the lives she touches ; v ; I shall indeed someday, somehow find my happy as Esther so simply put it:
"Just be happy, and if you can't be happy, do things that make you happy, or do nothing with the people that make you happy."
Fin.