Failure to Communicate

I just finished the book The House at Riverton by Kate Morton. It was a really good book. Slow to start but I eventually got really into it.

What bothered me about the story is that everything would have worked out if the characters had just TALKED to one another. Shocking concept I know. If Grace had told Alfred her fears and her suspicious, they would not have had to wait 40 years to be together. If Hannah had been honest with anyone, the tragedy that happens at the end might not have occurred. Everyone was unhappy because no one knew the full story.

I suppose it's easy to sit back and judge others for failing to communicate. It's hard to lay your feelings and thoughts out there for others to pick apart. I think that as human beings we fear rejection and mockery too much to be that open. But if we could be, it would solve so many problems.

I am guilty of this myself. Rarely do I tell others what I am truly thinking. Usually I manage to internalize many of my own thoughts and feelings in an effort not to cause trouble for others. Occasionally, I get so upset or aggravated that it all spills out, but that is definitely more the exception than the rule. I wonder if my failure to be completely open and communicative has lead to misunderstandings with people. If so, what have I missed out on? Or what did I make someone unintentionally think?

Those kind of "what if" questions will drive me nuts.