We live and we move on, touching the hearts of others. We give and we receive, we treasure and we remember. No matter the utter travesty and how many valleys of treacherous rocks and boulders you have to wade through or climb, past –present- future.

Soulmate love -when found – does not break no matter how much wear and tear life brings. We talk epic love stories and The Empty Jar by M Leighton is exactly that. Until I couldn’t see or hear or feel anything else. I’d drown in it until I could feel it with every breath I took. I’d soak it up until it became a part of me, an inextricable part of me. I’d breathe it in through my pores, draw it into my cells. It was there, on his face, plain for all the world to see. ‘I’d known the instant he’d fallen in love with me. This is not a – drift gently into the heart of a true love romance – no, this is a throw you in, head first and see if you drown in a fierce and surging torrent of a powerful once in a lifetime love entwined with hope, anguish, passion and fighting strength.

“That’s the one place that will always be available to you. “What if the only place I’ve ever really wanted to be was in your arms?” “Everywhere we’ve ever wanted to go, we’ll go.”

And truthfully when we say we felt the emotions- we felt them to the point of starting off by being on the brink of emotional distress to then free-fall into the abyss of no return from overwhelming anguish, blanketed and comforted by sweet and inspirational touches of pure guiding light in the hours of darkness. Leighton’s masterful, ingenious and truly heartfelt words brought. From a slow beginning which told us a story to almost halfway through when we became a part of it by experiencing every emotion M. Our hearts were involved every step of the way reading The Empty Jar. ‘Is it possible for a person’s biggest dream to come in the midst of their worst nightmare? Can life be so tragic and yet so beautiful, all at the same time?’ That, actions, behaviour and decisions made from love and with love ease our path in a life fraught with both tragedy and joy. That, to read this book you must embrace the notion that love is the most precious gift we can ever receive or give in return that love gives us strength when all else fails. We can tell you that this was one of the most powerful and gut wrenching books we’ve ever read. Well wow, what can we say about The Empty Jar? Not much really, as to do so would completely spoil one stunningly beautiful and inspirational story of love and sacrifice. “I need to know how to make it through this, how to have hope. It’s pain and suffering for something or someone you love.Īnd this is the ultimate sacrifice. That’s what sacrifice is-beauty and tragedy. No one could’ve guessed that something so beautiful could be so tragic. We couldn’t have known it would work out this way.

The Empty Jar by Michelle Leighton