Big Little Lies

     "Big Little Lies" include the ones people tell themselves and the ones they tell others.  Omissions and commissions, secrets kept, and falsehoods spread, all stray from the truth.   Celeste and Perry, Madeline and Ed, and single mom Jane seem to be living happy normal lives as parents of students at Perriwee Public School, "where we live and learn by the sea."
     As the women meet each other, they are the image of successful moms, but as they get to know each other, a more honest picture is revealed.  Celeste wants to leave her husband but pretends all is well.  Madeline is trying to adjust to sharing her daughter with her first husband Nathan and his young wife.   Jane is raising her son alone keeping the identity of his father to herself.  Both adults and children are keeping secrets and living with the consequences.
      Some lies were to protect someone, some were misunderstandings, yet some were malicious gossip.  Celeste finally realizes "all the perfect little lies" she'd told herself needed to be shared, "to say the bare ugly truth, to hold nothing back."
     Their lives are not as sweet as first portrayed.  Eventually, the lies are shattered, and the healing begins.

The Forgotten Garden

     An epic story of many generations residing in England and Australia is told primarily through the eyes of Nell, her granddaughter Cassandra, and Eliza, the Authoress.  As each generation tries to uncover family secrets, they discover old scrapbooks, notebooks, and a book of illustrated Fairy Tales.  These sources contain "the joys and traumas of forgotten lives."  Many characters also share their memories of  the past.

    Author Kate Morton reveals how Authoress Eliza used "bits of her own life by turning them into fiction."  People and events were inspiration for the fairy tales which later provided answers to many family questions.  Early on, an English garden and cottage were enjoyed by some of the characters but later is walled up and becomes overgrown.  After many years, the long-forgotten garden finally reveals its secrets. 

              

     

Instructions

    Instructions can be helpful, illustrating how various parts go together to complete a project, but sometimes we wish to skip the advice and rely on our own talent and experience.  With enough experience and confidence, trial and error, and persistence, the project may be completed without someone else's guidance.
     Many forms of instructions are provided to aid us in completing projects.  Personal instructions come from parents, teachers, and experts.  We in turn may become the parent, teacher, or expert.  Written instructions come in many forms: assembly directions, how-to manuals, books on improving our lives, and religious texts.  We have the internet at our fingertips.  We can also teach ourselves from observations and practice.
     Many instructions are obviously helpful and even necessary.  As we mature, however, we can better distinguish which instructions retain their value and which are faulty, need amending, or should be deleted.
     Our life is the biggest project, as we put together the many parts.  We need to evaluate the guidance offered by other people and other sources of information.  We can create our own instructions.