“And when my body shall cease, my soul will still be yours, Claire? I swear by my hope of heaven, I will not be parted from you."
The wind stirred the leaves of the chestnut trees nearby, and the scents of late summer rose up rich around us; pine and grass and strawberries, sun-warmed stone and cool water, and the sharp, musky smell of his body next to mine.
"Nothing is lost, Sassenach; only changed."
"That's the first law of thermodynamics," I said, wiping my nose.
"No," he said. "That's faith.”
Claire Randall (Fraser) and Jamie Fraser were the first couple that I'd fallen in love with and longed to follow through their rather unique love story. I met them when I turned sixteen and was gifted one of the books in the Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon.
Love. Hate. Time Travel. Scottish History. This series has all of it, and so much more. When I was sixteen, I was given a book titled Drums of Autumn and honestly looking at it when I first got it scared me, because it would be the longest book I'd read at the time when I managed to start reading it.
It took me several months of mulling it over when I finally opened the package (which I remember looking at originally and going "What in the hell is this?") and saw the wonderfully warm and inviting cover that had items associated with Scottish heritage - namely a full tartaned kilt, sporran, hatchet, rifle, and even a decorated gilded hair comb. It was pretty, and I liked it, so upon reading the blurb on the back I decided to give it a try, and I fell in love with it and wanted to read more.
I had no idea when I opened the book that I was dropping myself into the middle of a series. Drums of Autumn is the fourth book in the Outlander series (and I know I've mentioned this series before).
The story in Drums of Autumn actually focuses quite a bit on Brianna who is the daughter of James Fraser and Claire Randall. Brianna doesn't know her father, and her mother is in the past with Jamie. She has her own discoveries to make, has her own challenges to face and ultimately a choice that has to be made that could keep her trapped in the past as well, and ultimately alter her future.
There are so many quotes from this book that I love, but the title of this diary is one of my favorites and the one that has had the most impact upon me, because it is true. Forgiveness does not come from a single act, but rather constant practice. We must always practice the art of forgiveness, not just leave it to a singular act that has been performed. Everyone does something that they need to be forgiven for, we even need to ask for forgiveness more often than some of us would like to admit. I know Jamie has to ask for Claire's forgiveness often, and Claire has often had to ask Jamie's forgiveness (but not as often as the stubborn Scotsman has had to ask).