Every year, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books becomes livelier and brighter due to the growing number of attendees. From book lovers, casual readers, and literary collectors to authors and publishers, people gathered to celebrate literacy.
The largest book festival in the US opened its doors last April for a glamorous two-day weekend celebration with the bookworms. Held at the University of Southern California, many book enthusiasts, book lovers, and book collectors, as well as writers, established authors, and many more, attended the free event.
A lot of bookfair-goers went by the Citi of Books booth to check for their next read and potential favorite book. One of the books that were chosen is “The Half-Life of Secrets” by Holland Childhouse. It was displayed on April 20th and 21st at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the University of Southern California.
The author, Holland Childhouse, holds a degree from the University of California, Berkeley. For many years, she worked as a professional technical writer. Later, she held the position of Vice President of a Silicon Valley Cad/Cam software company. Currently, she lives in Colorado with her husband.
“The Half-Life of Secrets” is a riveting story of a woman reviewing her life as she faces the remaining days of her life. Olivia is dying of leukemia. Nothing can be done but to slow it down and make her comfortable, says her oncologist son. At one point, he suggests that the dying body loses its senses one at a time. Taste, smell, touch, sight, and hearing are all lost until there is nothing left but raw consciousness, then oblivion. Despite this grim outlook, Olivia displays both humor and insight as she comes to understand that there may be things more difficult than confronting one’s own mortality.
She reflects on her life through the prism of each of these five senses, each evoking a collection of memories and one associated with a death. Some memories are deeply painful, others more nuanced. This period of contemplation culminates in an unforeseen revelation that changes her perspective on life and justice. In the end, a certain equilibrium has been achieved, so that the quiet sins that have been committed become more balanced.
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