Book Review – The Shaken Snow Globe

Earlier this year I started a book club in my neighborhood.  See, I actually follow my own advice!  😉  Rather than waiting to be asked to join one, I just started one myself.  It’s been a fun way to build community and foster friendships in our new neighborhood, bonding over a mutual interest…….or interests I should say.  I think some of us enjoy the social time, and what I mean by social time is “drinking wine together” ;), more so than reading the books.  But regardless we all have a good time!  Our book club is not super structured.  We don’t have questionnaires to fill out or any set topics to discuss.  We just get together once a month for an “official book club meeting” to chat about the book, eat snacks, drink wine and just enjoy some girl time.

This month we read The Shaken Snow Globe (Finding Happiness Beyond My White Picket Fence) by Kristy Dominiak.  One of the girls in the book club is friends with this local first-time author, so she thought it would be fun for our group to read the book and then invite the author to chat with us.  And what a treat it was to not only read this memoir, but to have the opportunity to meet Kristy and ask her all kinds of questions!

(I’m holding the book.  – Looking at the picture, the author,Kristy Dominiak, is to my left.)

The night of our meeting had been a crazy, busy day for me, but there was no way I was going to miss an opportunity to chat with the author.  So I came unshowered, in a baseball cap and yoga pants.  #keepingitreal

I was that reader that didn’t pay too much attention to the cover before I started reading, and I guess I missed the conversation about the fact that our next book was a memoir and not just a fictional story.  I thought, hmmmmmmm, it’s interesting that she named her main character after herself.  I know, like duh, right?   But honestly, the story itself was kind of crazy, so much so in some areas that you would actually think it had to be fiction.  It wasn’t until the very last page when her last name, Dominiak, was used that the lights turned on and I realized it was in fact her story.  Y’all have my permission to go on ahead and bless my heart.  😉

Kudos to Kristy for sharing from the heart her very real and raw, in some cases not very flattering, life story.  It takes bravery to peel back the layers and expose your true self to the world, but in doing so she’s making a difference in many women’s lives.  This is a story of letting go of the image of perfection and learning to love yourself, faults and all, in order to find true happiness in your perfectly imperfect life.  It’s about not settling for anything less than fireworks, yet understanding that realizing the dream might look different than the way you planned.  It’s a story that begs the question – If you’re looking for greener grass, why not do the work to water your own?

Her story gives a glimpse into how sexual assault can stay with a person many years later and affect their life and decisions. The book portrays how a marriage is often not as picture perfect as it may seem from the outside, yet how true loving relationships can be built when we’re honest and authentic both with ourselves and with our spouse.

Kristy was just as real, honest and open as she was in her book, and it was a pleasure to meet her in person!   Her story is both insightful and inspiring, and it was a nice switch from the norm.  For anyone at a crossroads, Kristy’s story may be the encouragement or the challenge you need to dig deeper in order to discover your true self and live your happiest life.

What you pull away from Kristy’s story ultimately depends on where you are in your own personal story, but I think no matter what her willingness to be vulnerable and open in the telling of her story will leave you feeling something.

Check out the sidebar to the right for more book reviews, and feel free to read along with me!  I just started Mary Kubica’s Don’t You Cry.  Use #fifthhousereads on instagram to show me what you’re reading!