Drive

by Kate Stewart

[stacey_is_sassy]

***IT'S ALIVE!!***

I got the music in me...

I realised something while reading Drive, I’ve never known heartbreak. Sure, I’ve seen the heartbreak and experienced someone else’s heartbreak, but I’ve never been gut-punched by love. I wonder sometimes if we go looking for what we don’t have, or what we haven't had, in our reads. You may think that seems weird to want to read about another's anguish and pain but there seems a lot of fulfilment in coming out of the dark. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve lived in the dark (not really dark, dark, more like dim) but love didn’t put me there. I did have some heart twinges before hubby (Hello, one boyfriend broke up with me on Valentine’s Day…DOUCHEWAFFLE) but they didn’t break me. So, maybe, I read Kate Stewart to understand the dark and emotional heartbreak and experience the joy of finding the light.

It’s hard not to have an opinion when watching someone’s life implode. I honestly felt connected to the characters in Drive. I wanted to be their voice of reason when they were leaping before looking. There were a few times that I shook my head knowing that the repercussions of decisions made, were going to hurt. I felt like a parent wanting to lecture them on making “smart choices” but it wasn’t just parental feelings. I felt like that older friend you have that’s been there and done that a time or two. You listen to them and scoff that you know what you’re doing but afterwards you think about it more. I wanted to be the voice of reason and tell them that in my experience, balance is the answer to happiness and love. It’s important to be true to yourself and make sure to keep your dreams alive. But, compromise and sacrifice is not a burden if it's for someone you love. One without the other is doomed to failure. I think by the end they got it, but watching them suffer and break to find that happiness and love, hurt.

Kate Stewart has again taken me on an emotional journey of discovery. Before I started reading Drive, I was convinced that music hadn’t really played a big part in my life. With each new chapter, and each new song mentioned, I realised I was wrong. I could tell you when the songs mentioned were part of my life and what stage I was at. I knew most of the songs without having to check. I even had my own songs for stages of my life (Valentine’s day break up – Tubthumping by Chumbawamba), some of them good and some of them bad. I grew up in a household of music where we sang and danced like we were on Young Talent Time (Australian show from back in the olden days, google it for a laugh). My poor Dad. The only bloke in a house full of women, he could probably tell you the words to Take on Me by Aha. Music had played a part and it was bigger than I realised. Made me want to spend a few quality hours on YouTube watching video clips and remembering the olden days.

I’m still undecided whether it played out the way I wanted. Do you settle for the safe bet or take the risk? One will leave you happy enough that you can find a level of satisfaction but left feeling like something is missing. The other will give you the freedom to leap into the unknown and hope that the safety net will be there to catch your fall. I’m not sure I’d take the risk, or, be content with the safe. But, this wasn’t my love story. I was just along for the Drive.

Stacey is Sassy, received a complimentary copy of this story. The copy provided is not the final copy and may be subject to edits and changes.