Persuasion by Jane Austen

I first read Persuasion as a bitter seventeen year old. By then, my heart had been broken, and a dull echo of hope barely existed when I thought of romance. It's funny now, as I look back on it, but in many ways I owe my restored faith in true love to this novel. Anne was my spirit animal, living with a similar regret and despair, along with a loneliness based on something she felt she shouldn't have done. Her regret binds her to address the issue, that she is still in love with Fredrick Wentworth, some eight years after she refused him. The boring pattern of her life is interrupted when he returns quite suddenly back into her life, and she is forced to confront her feelings and reflect on them. 

In many ways, this is my favorite of Jane Austen's novels. While Pride and Prejudice is funny and charming, Persuasion is a deep and psychological tale of regret, chances and the random happenings in life. 

Anne herself is an observer, reflecter, thinker and a young woman with a warm heart. As she befriends Captain Benwick, she sees life in a new perspective and discovers that the past can't be changed, but there is always an opportunity to change the future. 

I recommend this book, especially to the heart broken. The story concerns what love really is, and whether it can last over a long absence. This book taught me that my silly Highschool crush was not meant to be, but living in regret doesn't help you change the present. 

Does Anne reconcile with Captain Wentworth? Does he still care for her? How does Anne cope with his sudden presence in her life? All these questions are answered, with human reflections on heartbreak, destiny and true love.