Summary of Congratulations, The Best Is Over! by R. Eric Thomas E-Book

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• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

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Summary of Congratulations, The Best Is Over! by R. Eric Thomas

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R. Eric Thomas returns with a collection of heartening, relatable, and laugh-out-loud essays about coming home after happily ever after. After experiencing chaos and adjusting to his identities, Thomas returns to his misunderstood hometown of Baltimore, where he struggles to find his way back. The collection offers nitty details of his journey, from attending a high school reunion to splattering blood in an urgent care room. With wit, heart, and hope for the future, Congratulations, The Best Is Over! serves as a reminder that even when life doesn't go according to plan, we can still find our way back home.

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Summary of Congratulations, The Best Is Over! by R. Eric Thomas

R. Eric Thomas's collection of relatable essays explores his journey back to Baltimore after adjusting to his identities. The collection offers nitty details of his journey, from high school reunions to urgent care rooms, highlighting the resilience and hope that can be found in life's unexpected turns.BookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

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Summary of Congratulations, The Best Is Over!

A

Summary of

R. Eric Thomas’s Essays

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Summary of Congratulations, The Best Is Over! by R. Eric Thomas

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This is an unofficial summary & analysis of R. Eric Thomas’s “Congratulations, The Best is Over!: Essays” designed to enrich your reading experience.

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The contents of the summary are not intended to replace the original book. It is meant as a supplement to enhance the reader's understanding. The contents within can neither be stored electronically, transferred, nor kept in a database. Neither part nor full can the document be copied, scanned, faxed, or retained without the approval from the publisher or creator.

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Introduction

In the late twenties, the author wanted a cupcake, but couldn't make one. Instead, they made a dozen cupcakes, using kitchen supplies that were not perfect. They made the cupcakes and icing by hand, but the kitchen counter was covered in flour and buttercream smears. The author was in a phase of life that was typical of one's late twenties, with money troubles, underemployment, and the realization that life is a scam. They moved to Philadelphia in 2005, following a dream of finding success in the city's arts scene. They had a friend breakup with their longtime roommate and moved into a house with a gregarious guy and his two cats.

The author made cupcakes multiple times a week, and they tried different flavors, such as peanut butter icing on banana cakes, strawberry icing on ginger cakes, chocolate cakes with cherries in the center, topped with cream cheese icing, and Rainbow Pride cupcakes. Although they were not impressive, they kept making them. They made hundreds, perhaps thousands of cupcakes without anyone asking why. Baking wasn't a cry for help, and the author's unhappy phase was not a cries for help. The author's book, Knead, Pray, Love, has no recipes, but if you want a recipe, you can search "cupcake recipes."

The author's life was filled with a constant stream of baked goods, but she wondered what she was supposed to do after the cake was finished. As an aspiring artist, she was used to taking every one of her interests and entrusting them with her financial well-being. However, she never wanted to turn the cupcakes into a moneymaking endeavor. As she tried to make something of the rest of her life, she wondered if hobbies were a reflection of a deeper truth about the self or a diversion from it.

Throughout this period, her father would send her articles about 401(k)s and constructing one's five-year plan on LinkedIn. She would have to figure out her LinkedIn password, find my messages, and download PDFs to map out an idea of what her future would look like. She read these messages with great interest, but she didn't know how to begin making one for herself.

The author's father used these messages as a means of tapping into a deep well of encouragement, showing up fully as himself. He also frequently sent "happy birthday" messages on LinkedIn, which seemed like quixotic assignments I couldn't do. However, they also contained a message underneath that said, "I see you. The future is coming. Keep going."

The author made her way through hopeless years, one dozen cupcakes at a time, and eventually met someone, moved in together, and bought her a Vitamix. She got new jobs, started freelance writing, and married a white social-justice-seeking pastor named David. She got laid off from her job but eventually secured a full-time position at ELLE.com.

By 2017, the author found herself living back in her hometown, unsure of what the plan was. She wondered if she had missed the part of life she had been working toward and wondered if she had missed the part of life that she had been working toward. Over the five years that followed, she experienced incredible highs and lows that would send her wandering into a wilderness.

In the middle of the best and worst days of life, between what you thought your life would be and what it is, between two people, there is a vivid and strange expanse in the middle.

Part One

Part One

This Is Wudder

The building in question was advertised as having an infinity pool and a location near the Jones Falls, a picturesque 18-mile stream in Baltimore. The apartments were designed from an old sailcloth factory and preserved many of its original features, including wooden beams and a common room. The pool, which was only about two picnic tables but infinitely extended, and the Falls, which attracted herons and geese, provided a peaceful view augmented by highway traffic. The author, who had lived in Baltimore for thirteen years, was incredibly happy in Philadelphia. Despite living in Baltimore for thirteen years, the author struggled to craft a better narrative for themselves and the city.

The author's move away had given him the chance to write another narrative but also calcified his complicated feelings about his hometown into an active grudge. He frequently wrote emails to the mayor of Baltimore with the subject line "APOLOGIZE!" but the mayor had yet to respond. As the author stood in a refurbished factory-turned-luxury-apartment building, he considered starting a new chapter in a story he thought was finished.

The author moved to Philadelphia on a whim, and the first couple of years were challenging. Despite the challenges, they found a community, artistic success, and met David, who was a pastor. The city motto is "Whiz Wit a Spouse." However, by the summer after their wedding, they were at a turning point. The author had been laid off from a university job but had a freelance job writing humor columns for ELLE.com. David, who had graduated from therapy school, was struggling to find a job as a pastor.

The Presbyterian church has an internal job-search site called Pastoral Information Form (PIF), which helps match pastors with worshipping communities. The PIF is similar to OkCupid, but it's more like dating, with each party trying to make a commitment that will last years.

David had updated his PIF regularly and would come to him with news of potential churches in the area, but none of them were a match. The author was anxious about waiting for responses from churches, feeling like Samantha on Sex and the City. Eventually, David found a small, social-justice-focused congregation in a wooded area and was excited when they invited him to give a guest sermon. He was thrilled when they asked him to make it Facebook official, David and the church in suburban Maryland, just outside of Baltimore.

The protagonist and her husband David are moving to Baltimore, a city where they have a toxic relationship and a desire to see their loved ones. They are offered an apartment in the factory apartments, which are advertised as an escape from their Baltimore surroundings. The apartment is a greenhouse plopped on top of a bunker, with wooden beams that still have factory soot on them. The apartment is far more expensive than they had budgeted but still the most reasonable choice in the market.

The protagonist is surprised to find that all of their stories about Baltimore are unhappy, which is surprising given the city's history. David's new church will pay for relocation, and David found a moving company that fit the price point and specialized in moving clergy. They had a combined library of books, including the Bible and The Pelican Brief by John Grisham.