The Perfect Daughter by Cathryn E. LokeyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Poignant and deeply thoughtful, Cathryn Lokey has opened the door to her soul and bid us to come in without first checking our own baggage at the front steps.
The Perfect Daughter is the beautifully written true story of a woman who grew up unblemished in the eyes the church (Latter Day Saints) which educated her, sent her out to mission, and presented her with written testimonies of pride.
Her close-knit family also nurtured her, watched her grow, attended her wedding, and welcomed her new son into the world. She was, in fact, the perfect daughter on every level.
What Cathryn shares with us, however, is the story of a young woman seeking her own path toward the life she intuits (and later knows) that she is meant to live.
As she begins to edge away from an oppressive marriage, Cathryn learns that everything she believed, although certainly not wrong, was not right for her. In fact, it never would be. Could not be.
Sexual orientation, divorce, single parenthood, spiritual doubting, becoming a family in a non-family made up of friends and ex-in-laws, introspection, and self-examination are all part of the journey toward finding the "real" Cathryn- the one God made - who was there all along. She lets us in on all of it.
I wish everyone who has doubts about what their life is supposed to "look like" and wonders, "Where am I going from here?" would read The Perfect Daughter.
I always say that the true measure of the timelessness of the written word (just as in music and art) is the number of hearts that have skipped a beat because of it. Four stars, and you know that I never give five.
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