While I’m reading, a sentence will grab me and force me to stop. I pay tribute to other authors by sharing their Damn Fine Sentences with you. Then I recount a memory the words bring up for me. It’s about how books connect with your life.
###
“There’s something in all of us that wants a medal for what we have done.”
———Alice Walker
——--The Color Purple
Trusting each other, the participants at a Dawn’s Monthly Author Reading late in 2022 shared their feelings. A woman said my essay validated her anger, but the conversation among the group gave her hope. Another said my story had her thinking about her childhood in a completely different way. Someone else reported that she understood my emotions more clearly hearing me read the story in my own voice. Someone called me a rock star. I was filled with gratitude and humility.
After we signed off, I levitated around the house, fulfilled beyond what my limited imagination could ever conjure.
But the next day I was dissatisfied. Yesterday’s fulfillment wasn’t enough. I had nothing to show for my successful reading. I wanted more than fading memories. I deserved a reward. A Nobel Prize. A feature in the New York Times. At least a gold star.
###
“There’s something in all of us that wants a medal for what we have done.”
———Alice Walker
——--The Color Purple
Trusting each other, the participants at a Dawn’s Monthly Author Reading late in 2022 shared their feelings. A woman said my essay validated her anger, but the conversation among the group gave her hope. Another said my story had her thinking about her childhood in a completely different way. Someone else reported that she understood my emotions more clearly hearing me read the story in my own voice. Someone called me a rock star. I was filled with gratitude and humility.
After we signed off, I levitated around the house, fulfilled beyond what my limited imagination could ever conjure.
But the next day I was dissatisfied. Yesterday’s fulfillment wasn’t enough. I had nothing to show for my successful reading. I wanted more than fading memories. I deserved a reward. A Nobel Prize. A feature in the New York Times. At least a gold star.
RSS Feed