Mobility Mom Book Shelf: Under the Oak with Agnes by Jed smith

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I picked up this book for my June book club and let me tell you all about it.

Book Description

These are the words that Agnes, an unassuming hospice aide, offers to accomplished attorney Emory Harrell in the wake of his mother’s passing. In his profound grief, Emory is invited to dispense with conventional wisdom as he searches for wholeness and dares to challenge the status quo of his seemingly ideal life. At Agnes’s urging, he volunteers at the hospice house where his mother died. There, Emory meets four very different people who are in their last days—a teenage girl with a wisdom well beyond her years, a long-haul truck driver with a surprising past, a fundamentalist minister estranged from his son, and an elderly woman lost in dementia.

Emory’s journey faces many twists, turns, and challenges—not the least of which are the efforts of the woman who is supposed to love him most, yet connives to keep him safely under the sphere of her control and away from the truth he seeks.

About Jed Smith

Jed Smith is a writer, an artist, and a photographer. He grew up in the South where this novel is set. Before moving to Italy ten years ago, Jed worked as a senior creative director for a national brand and led a talented team of copywriters, graphic designers, web designers, art directors,
and creative directors.

After moving to reside in Italy over eight years ago, Jed created a now well-established blog, ItalyWise.com, which chronicles the many experiences of adapting to and learning a new language and culture. He also shares personal musings about the trials and tribulations of making
such a dramatic life and cultural change.

As an accomplished fine artist, Jed has been the recipient of many awards and honors and is a Signature Member of the National Watercolor Society.
His paintings and photography can be found at jedsmithart.com.

My Thoughts

I picked up this book for my June book club meeting. As I delved into it I began to really look at life definitely. As someone who has known how precious life is having lived with a chronic illness that has no cure, I have always looked at life as a blessing. However, as I read this book I looked at life and death.

Emory has been in control of his life for a long time. He has known what he wanted for as long as he can remember. He likes having control of his life but when his mother dies and he meets Agnes Emory's life becomes chaos.

Agnes is a hospice aid who is a wealth of knowledge and guidance. She reaches out to Emory when his mother dies to offer support and some life lessons and truth.

As Emory and Agnes meet for lunch Agnes helps Emory to see life and death in a completely different life and maybe even learn to live life instead of controlling it.

I loved that Agnes did not push too hard in this book. that she gave advice but also allowed Emory to find his way. As for Emory, I loved watching him grow and find his way. I can also safely say I did not like his girlfriend Nicole that woman was a terror. I was so happy when Emory began to see her for her true colors.

This book was really deep and delved into a subject most people shy away from and that's death. Not only did this book show how to live but it showed how death can be something beautiful even if it means the end of something. It allowed me to see death not as an end but as the beginning of something different. We tend to look at death as something terrible but through this book, I began to see it as something completely different

Also, I loved the twist to this book. Overall, a really beautiful book and poignant.