If Ever Two Were One : A Private Diary of Love Eternal

Rating:
Summary: Touching, Historic, a Great Read!
Review: A touching compilation of diaries. A look into one man's love and losses in 19th century New England. I couldn't put it down.

Rating:
Summary: Endearing 19th century Journal
Review: I really enjoyed reading this collection of letters and journal entries, though I felt like I was prying at times into Frank's personal reflections that he never anticipated being read by a stranger. It was fascinating to read about all the famous writers Frank Abbot had friendships with: Darwin, Thoreau, and Emerson, to name a few. Frank's journal entries about his friendships made such famous writers and thinkers seem more personal.
The book has a slow start - It begins with Frank's courtship with his lifelong love Katie. The first half of the book is a collection of letters between these two, consisting mainly of adolescent pinings of "I love you more" "No, I love YOU more" kind of correspondence. Sweet, but it gets a little tiring. I guess it seems trite today, but to Frank and Katie it was sincere.
The last half of the book is much more interesting. It follows Frank and Katie's life together, surviving a series of hardships, the worst of which are the deaths of several children. The book is definitely worth reading, if only to absorb the life of an amazing individual who sustained an unending love for his wife. I'm grateful that I was able to know Frank, if only through his letters.