当发现另一半的前半生是一片你从未踏足的秘密森林，你是否愿意背起行囊来一场ta曾有过的冒险？
今天给大家介绍的是英国作家菲德拉•帕特里克（Phaedra Patrick）的长篇处女作《两个她的奇幻之旅》（The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper）。菲德拉•帕特里克曾是位艺术家，后来开始自己的写作生涯，现居英国全职写作。这本书已售23国版权，受到世界各大报纸杂志的赞誉。
亚瑟·佩伯失去了与他相濡以沫了40个年头的老伴米莉安，因此而一度意志消沉。有一天收拾妻子的遗物时，亚瑟惊讶地发现了一条镶有八颗吊坠的黄金手链，一头镶了绿宝石的大象、一朵花、一本书、一个调色盘、一只老虎、一个顶针、一颗心，再加一个指环。其中的大象吊坠上还附有一串电话号码，打过去发现是印度的一家名门望族，原来妻子年轻的时候在这家当过保姆，而这段经历他从没听妻子提过。
难道这八颗吊坠的背后分别藏着一段故事？于是好奇心驱使着快70岁的亚瑟离开家乡，踏上了探索妻子前半生的旅程。英国的庄园、伦敦、巴黎……亚瑟的足迹遍布很多地方，这趟奇妙的旅程不仅让亚瑟自己产生了改变，他以往对妻子的认知也在不断地瓦解又重建：年轻时的米莉安真的是那个和我相伴了40载的人？我真的了解她吗？
明明妻子在自己眼里就是一个简简单单围着灶台转的主妇，竟然在婚前走过那么多惊奇、刺激的路，也痴狂或深爱过别的人；明明以为她是安于琐碎的普通人，竟然曾是那么的个性不羁爱*。这不禁让亚瑟开始强烈怀疑起妻子对自己的爱，担心这段婚姻是假象，甚至质疑自己。好在女儿点醒了执迷于过去的亚瑟，和米莉安走过的这40个春秋不就是爱的最好证明吗？彼此重合的40年，即使略显平淡也依然真挚宝贵。
有时候对过去的缄默，亦是对过去的放下。只把过去当做纪念品，留在自己的回忆里，转身过好当下的生活。
下面是这本书的部分摘录供大家品读，附上小编的翻译，若有不足，欢迎批评和指教~如果你对这本书或是文章内容有什么想法，也欢迎到评论区留言和大家一起分享哦~
By sorting out her wardrobe it felt as if he was saying goodbye to her all over again. He was clearing her out of his life.
他整理她的衣柜就好像是再一次和她告别，把她从人生中抹去。
All his thoughts were running riot, like rowdy children, and he wanted them to stop and leave him alone.
他所有的思绪都在放肆奔涌一如吵闹的小孩，他想让它们停下来并离他而去。
“I like to have my tea at the same time each day. I like my newspaper folded in the same way and I take precisely thirty minutes to sit and read.”
“Then I am spoiling your routine.”
“You are not spoiling it. You are enhancing it. It is good to shake things up.”
“我每天的同一时间都要喝茶，每张报纸也要以同样的方式折叠起来，我还会精准地花上30分钟坐下来读书。”
“那么我正在扰乱你的常规。”
“你并不是在扰乱，而是在提升，改变常规挺好的。”
...it made him feel alive. He needed a jolt to his system. Something to shake him out of the cozy * he had created for himself.
那让他感觉自己是活着的。他的人生需要冲击，促使他走出他为自己建造的舒适囚笼。
She sometimes felt like the spider in the middle of the family web, trying to hold all the threads together.
她有时感觉自己像是在家庭网中心的蜘蛛，努力把所有的蜘蛛丝拢在一起。
Surprisingly he wasn't overwhelmed... He wasn't part of this strange world. He as a visitor, transient, and knew he could return to the safety of his home. This made him feel braver, intrepid.
令人惊讶的是他并没有不知所措……他不属于这个陌生的世界，他只是一个参观者、一个过客，他知道他完全可以回家，回到安全的港湾。这一切让他感到更加勇敢无畏。
He regretted it now. They should have visited new places together, had new experiences when the kids got older. They should have grasped the opportunity to do what they wanted to do and expand their horizons...
他现在后悔了。他们本应该一起游览新景点，在孩子们长大后一起拥抱新体验；本应该抓住机会做想做的事、开拓视野……
He was stronger and had more depth than he knew and he liked these new discoveries about himself.
他比他所知道的自己更加坚强、更有深度，他喜欢自己身上的新变化。
Sometimes you hold onto things, not because you want to keep them, but because they are difficult to let go.
有时候你抓紧某些东西，并不是因为你想要留住它们，而是因为放开它们太难了。
You know, through my travels and meeting people who were part of Miriam’s life, I’m learning that it’s the things you say and do that people remember you for. She is no longer here but she lives on in people’s hearts and minds.
通过我的这几次旅行，见了曾是米莉安生命中一部分的那些人，我认识到，人们记住你的其实是你说过的话和做过的事，尽管她不在这儿了，她也依然活在人们的脑海和心中。
Sometimes when you've lived a chapter of your life, you don't want to look back.
有时候，当你过完了人生中的一段时期，你并不想再去回顾。