<Reading> Whereabouts

When the weather is gloomy, my body feels
a bit sluggish too.
Finally, there is only one month left
in the first half of 2025.
Lately, I've been dabbling in children's literature and picture books,
and I, onshi, am feeling quite chaotic.

Today's book introduction is
"Whereabouts" by Maiko Seo

The 2019 Japan Booksellers' Award winner,
"And So the Baton Was Passed," and others
are works that find light even in harsh realities,
and I see the author as someone who creates stories
with a warm gaze.

The same goes for this book, "Whereabouts."
The protagonist is a single mother
raising her only daughter.
Like a curse,
her mother persistently pesters her,
saying, "I raised you, didn't I?"
The protagonist struggles to find the courage to interact with others.

Even so, with the warm support of her only daughter,
who is her reason for living, and those around her,
seeing her gradually become stronger
was a pleasant experience while reading.

My mother, if I had to say,
didn't reminisce about how "it was hard," but rather,
I feel like she said it as a complaint?

However, once I had my own child and raised them,
I realized that while it is a given that raising a child is hard,
I couldn't understand the sentiment of
"it was hard."
Just as the protagonist feels in this book.

Of course, they get sick, and it was actually hard.

Parents and children are all different.
I think there is also the matter of compatibility.
I think it's unavoidable that some are better at parenting than others,
and I think it's fine to have various patterns.

However, what is essential is that both parent and child
have the right to be happy.

Since children are not the property of their parents, I sincerely believe
that protecting them until they can live as individuals
is the bare minimum.

I know there are mothers and children struggling at this very moment,
so I hope they don't feel cornered,
and that they won't hesitate to lean on a hand offered to them;
in fact, I think they should lean on it.
Since their lives were born like a miracle,

I want them to connect to the future.
That is what I think every time I see dark news.
If you change your perspective a little,
I am sure a helping hand is still there by your side.

I thought this book would surely resonate with people
who are in environments where they feel stuck in parenting or mother-daughter relationships.

When you get stuck, love and happiness
become hard to see, but they haven't run away. This was a work that I sincerely hope
makes people realize that they are right there.

~Thank you for reading~