Lifesavers

As with any time of crisis, my first reaction is to read.  To dive into someone else's life for a while, to learn something that will help me in my own story, to let me escape into a place where I don't have to make all the decisions or try to see what's coming for me just down the road.

Three books have carried me through the weekend.

The first was The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor (the first of the Looking Glass Wars trilogy, a re-imagining of Alice's tale).  Alyss escapes from Wonderland when her evil Aunt Redd takes back the throne.  She grows up in Victorian England, unsure if her imagination is playing tricks on her or if she is really a princess of Wonderland.  Years later, a man arrives who opens the doors back to her own world.  But this time, she feels as if she isn't part of either world.  Who is she?

Alyss thinks she's crazy, a feeling I have felt too many times.  Once confronted with the truth, however, she has to face her fears and battle it out (literally) with her Aunt.

Alyss's strength and sheer determination encourage me.  Her grasp of what's true helps me.  Her whole journey from pampered palace princess to possibly crazy teen to triumphant monarch remind me that my own journey, with its twists and turns, isn't over yet.  There's more story to come.  

The second was Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo.  Just reading her author bio gave me hope.  It is her first novel.  She's a makeup artist in Hollywood.  She's in a band (with a cool name).  Someone like me is doing what they love.  The story itself is a brilliant work -- the movie rights have already been bought (she's writing a trilogy).

The setting is so perfect -- you're in the world as you read (and even after).  The characters are real, suffering from cold, hunger, and the cruelty of each other.  Reading about the two characters and their love for one another made me so grateful for my husband.  I pretty much ran to him after finishing it and wanted to hold him forever.  It reminded me just how incredibly blessed I am to have him.  Really, this book was absolutely amazing.  Dark, fantasy, but like a story that fairytales came from.  I wish I could play Alina in the movie version -- I identify with her and the feeling that parts of me are hidden even from myself.

The third book was Sharon Creech's new one, The Great Unexpected.  I just finished it this morning and am still basking in the glow of it.  Light cascades from it.  I felt like the world opened up to me after reading it, as if I'd been confined to a narrow slice for too long.  Now there's a wide, wild prairie ahead of me and all I have to do is run through it.  I don't know if that makes any sense, but her books have a crazy, deep, emotional effect on me.  They are so very, very precious and beautiful.

Thank heaven there is great literature.  

Maybe someday I'll be able to give back as a thank you to all the authors who, over the years, have shared their stories and have made my life better.