Ultimate Love: A Life of Soul and Searching by Kitty Caley
I would like to thank you for sharing your book with me Kitty. It was an honor to read it. From the first page to the last it is very apparent you and Chip meant the world to each other. Chip was a very special person although his life was short he touched a lot of hearts. This book does an excellent job at catching his character. As I read through his childhood I felt as I was growing with him. He was surrounded by a great circle of love.
His Grandmothers, Jerry, and Rhonda clearly had a special place in their hearts for Chip. I know he was disappointed by his father, but I think his family and friends did a great job at filling that void. I think his father leaving hurt Chip quite a bit; but I also feel this strongly shaped his character. Like in every aspect of his life, Chip chose the positive. He did not let one negative relationship bring him down. He realized his father’s flaws were just that. They were his father’s not his. He may have been disappointed but he chose to look on the bright side and focus on the people who loved him. He built an incredible strength wrapped in a sunny personality that would carry him through the good times and the hard times. In the book by the time Chip is an adult you feel like you know him, in fact you love him like a brother. He is funny and charming with a great a sense of style! It’s no wonder he became a top realtor in Dallas living a great life full of family and friends. When Chip starts having his first symptoms of AIDS it’s heartbreaking. You know it’s coming but still you wish you could just make it better for him. For such a strong person to have a breakdown you get a very small sample of how bitterly cruel AIDS is. At the time this was an unknown symptom of AIDS. Kitty is now becoming the strong one. She helps Chip find himself again. Your heart will ache for both of them trying to find their way through uncharted waters. Chip was a pioneer of AIDS.
Everything at that time was experimental. You see them draw strength from each other while trying and failing different methods of treatment. You laugh and cry with them through the stages of this terrible disease. AIDS may have ended Chip’s life but he never lost his strength or personality and somehow stayed positive until the end. Kitty grew in strength and courage throughout the worst heartbreak imaginable. She used that strength to continue to help AIDS victims. Chip would be proud! Thank you for sharing Chip’s story with me Thank you again for sharing your story with me. Chip still lives through this book and what an amazing person he is.
