Layla Groleau’s “Worst Case Scenario Best Life Ever” is a volume of vignettes about two dozen people, the challenges they faced and the ways they overcame them.
The Aurora resident attends St. Katharine Drexel Parish in Sugar Grove,
She opens with a reflection on what inspired her to write the book, saying, “What I have noticed, and I’m not alone, is that the pain, suffering and isolation which so many people are experiencing have prompted self-sacrifice, compassion, and an outpouring of love — such as this generation has never seen.”
Among the stories she shares is "Distilling for Good," about Whiskey Acres near DeKalb. Owned and operated by Nick Nagels, and Jim and Jamie Walter, she talks about their decision to stop making whiskey and switch their operation to hand sanitizer. (See stories in The Observer on April 28, 2017, and May 15, 2020, to learn more about the history of the operation.)
When they realized such a change could be a way Whiskey Acres could support first responders during the pandemic, they did what they needed to -- including jumping a variety of health "hoops" and calling on the aid of a state legislator -- so they could bottle the needed sanitizer.
Another story shows how kindness can be repaid with kindness. Aurora resident Katie Graves turned a vacation refund into a pizza give-away with Luigi's Pizza and Fun Center on the opposite side of the city from her. When she learned the pizza place was facing closure due to financial problems from the pandemic, she decided to give her refund to Luigi's to make pizza kits to give to needy families.
It was, Groleau explains, a full-circle kindness, after Luigi's opened it doors to first responders who needed a staging spot as they were dealing with a shooting and hostage situation at an Aurora manufacturer the year before.
As she closes each of the stories in her book, she urges readers to "Hold onto this," offering a lesson to be learned from each of them.
She closes the book with a poem, “I Wonder, When It’s Over,” followed by a second reflection, “Where Do We Go From Here?” and concrete suggestions on how to help others through trying times.
Groleau shares stories from near and far with her gentle and inspiring prose. This is a book to dip into when you need a lift anytime you face challenges or feel a little down.
Sheri White, a Loves Park resident who attends St. Bridget Parish there, took a different approach. In her “100 Days of Staying the Hell Home in 2020” she captures Facebook posts that generally aim to amuse and uplift readers.
In a journal of 100 days, she shares her "daily Top 10 list of All Things COVID-19 that had creeped into my life." She admits the lists include "whatever came to my mind" including "minor inconveniences, ... silver linings, ... (and) actual hardships." But she found it "was cathartic for me" and amusing to friends and family, so she kept it up.
Her lists include things such as:
March 23: "I slept until 9 a.m. What, am I a teenager all over again?" #ohgoodheavensno
April 15: "Masks: I am not sure why I bother to use the curling iron on my hair in the morning since the on/off with a mask wreck it anyway. I further question myself when I start to use the curling iron and I realize I had forgotten to turn it on." #telling me something
June 12: "Inflation: A glass of lemonade at a kid's neighborhood stand was a dollar. I really, really wanted to support it. I had 75 cents in change and nothing smaller than a five-dollar bill. I just could not throw my $5 in. #donatedmychange #tightwad
At one point, White says she's enjoying her daily writing habit, but doubts she'll be able to write anything serious until her husband goes back to his office so she can use her writing desk without his daily newspaper crowding her space. We suspect some of her fans would just as soon she keep up with her humorous observations and confessions -- COVID-19, notwithstanding.
Neither book is a read-it-straight-through narrative. Both are worth some time.
Both books are available at Amazon.
