Devon Trevarrow Flaherty's Blog, page 22

I was recently helping my daughter with one of her college application questions—okay, it wasn’t that recent; it was a few months ago. But when I was done helping her edit said question, I jotted down a note to blog about what I had learned from the experience. I haven’t needed that note until now (which is partly due to me reading a number of series, so I don’t have any fresh book reviews for you until those are finished).

I was helping edit an essay question about my daughter’s nonfiction life, but there was a moment in the process where I realized something about fiction. About my fiction. Something I had been told before, but suddenly seemed like the wisdom of the universe and like I could use it in some almost-tangible way. This wisdom? Make it shorter. Cut. Cutting is your friend. I noticed, while cutting back on her essay (which is what she had asked me to help her with, anyways, and I had agreed because even though I have other people to defer to for other editorial services in life-changing situations, I am pretty darn good at cutting) that even though she nor I wanted to cut—even though both she and I thought the essay was strong the way it was—it got better as we cut. And I realized, while realizing that, that I had been forced to cut to a word count many times before for articles and maybe a few other things and that every time it got better as I cut.

There is a point, right? A point where cutting is going to do some damage to a piece of writing. Not every novel is meant to be a novella. Not every novella a short story. Not every short story, flash fiction. Not every flash piece, a poem. But I can almost guarantee for you—and definitely for me—that when I think I’m on a final draft, the work could shed a few more literary pounds. It’s difficult to notice all those extra words and those flabby words until someone or something forces you to choose: it has to be 100 words, lady, and you have written 150. Now make some choices! Suddenly, there they are. I can find them, though sometimes it takes a walkthrough and then another and then another, hacking away at unnecessary words with each pass, grabbing more words and tying them together into neater packages.

The experience followed by my musing made me think this: that after my final draft (aka. the draft before I try to sell it) of a work of any length, I need to set a word-reduction goal and then go for it. The problem is that I don’t know what that reduction goal should be. It depends on my writing in general, and my writing on that piece in specific. I have a book right now in fast drafting that has been streeeeeetching out for months and it looks like a 150,000 word whopper by the time I finish next month. Ahem. My goal for this one might be 30%. Or more. Usually, I would say 10% is pretty optimistic for a final draft of mine, though I have the feeling that going a good 50-100% more than whatever goal you think is reasonable is where it’s at (by which I mean 50-100% of the GOAL, not the TOTAL). Sure, it’ll feel like “killing my darlings,” it’ll be painful (mostly to my pride) and take time. But I really think that cutting is where it’s at to tighten a piece of writing, and if you don’t have an agent or editor (or application submission form number in glowing red) hanging over your shoulder to tell you to do it and how much, then you need to be that crazy person, yourself. Go ahead, roll your eyes at yourself and mutter imprecations under your breath, but it’ll be worth it as you watch sentences, paragraphs, pages, chapters, even the whole manuscript (if it’s longer than pages) define itself into a neater, cleaner, clearer, and more beautiful form as you face down your laziness and attachment and truly hunt the artistic and worthy.

Image from Amazon.com

Kinda yikes. Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev was a confusing read, for me. Sure I was actually confused sometimes (I’ll get to that in a sec), but what I mean is that I both enjoyed it and disliked it simultaneously, all the way through. Much like the relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy, but only partially making up for it at the end. I mean, there are things about this book that are just so bad. It is long-winded and repetitive. The main relationship fizzles. Darcy is, sorry, but a real jerk despite all the little-violin music in his tragic past and his determination to take care of his little sister. And Trisha—the Elizabeth Bennet (except the roles are largely reversed in this retelling)—is inconsistent. Actually, many of the characters are inconsistent and I tired of Dev telling me that Darcy and Trisha and Ashna were one thing when they were acting in no such way. It’s like Dev didn’t even understand or know her own main characters (or she was trying to make them more like the Pride and Prejudice versions but they wouldn’t behave). I also was consistently annoyed by her taking on genius characters and then getting it all wrong. I thought the food world created here seemed inauthentic and I’m guessing if I knew more about some of these other things (because I had suspicions many times) I would also find these other genius things (neuroscience, visual art, extreme wealth, politics, Indian royalty) inauthentic. Why do writers insist on telling the stories of prodigies and extremes, so often? It just sets the reader up for narrowing their eyes at the page if they know anything about the area in which the genius or extremes lay.

But, at the same time, I thought this book wasn’t even genre fiction, at all. It read more to me like, if not literary fiction, than upscale fiction. Sure it included romance, but the depth of the character exploration, the movement of narration through time, and the complexity of the plot-weaving made me feel like I was reading the next pop fiction offering, not a romance/retelling, and I was enjoying the story itself. (By the way, this is a very loose adaptation, so not really much of a “retelling” at all. A couple of the characters have the names and there is more of story arc similarities than Dev wants to claim, but it’s a long way from the original to this version.) All that to say that there is something about this book that sells itself as engaging, interesting… I wanted to keep reading it and was sometimes even drawn into the scenes or the overall story or even the characters. And I was basically satisfied at the ending, though I looked back and thought Can I be so satisfied knowing what I know about the way these characters behaved? Perhaps it just needed more rigorous editing, like one might hope for an upscale book.

So there I would be all interested, but then I shot back out again when Dev circled around the same things over and over, said something that I literally couldn’t figure out (what does that mean?), tell me one thing while showing me another, get lost in Darcy’s mean-spirited self-talk, or make some other (sometimes snicker-inducing) literary blunder. And this would happen on just about every page. I mean, truffle oil on raw fennel?! And how many people (metaphorically) orgasm while eating great food? Not that many people can even appreciate great food. And seriously. It was like 100 scenes too long. Sometimes I sat there thinking, “I get it already! Move on instead of beating me over the head with it!” Readers are not that slow-witted. They need quick-mention reminders, not complete retellings of themes and character traits, etc. Then as I neared the end, I was like “yeah!” when I read some of the big-moment, wisdom speeches while others made we want to gag myself.

Now you want to know what the book is even about? Trisha Raje is the middle child of a family at the heart of an Indian dynasty that has relocated to San Francisco and is busy creating a new kind of American dynasty with brother Yash and his gubernatorial campaign in the center. Trisha is a prodigious neurosurgeon, but also the family outcast who can never live down a mysterious thing she did in her college past. Her run-in (literally) with the also-prodigious chef (Darcy “DJ”) at a Yash fundraiser accidentally puts her in a personality feud (or misunderstanding) with the brother of her patient, Emma. Trisha has spent a decade of hard work developing the method that will save Emma’s life, but it will take DJ and Trisha getting along to convince Emma to want to live. But with Julia Whickham back in town, the whole Raje family could come toppling down, using DJ and Emma as pawns in her cruel game.

Kinda horrible. But I didn’t mind reading it. If it had been a bit shorter, I might have even enjoyed it more. If it had been edited through a few more rigorous drafts, I might have enjoyed it, period.

QUOTES:

“Not everyone who fights you is your enemy” (p260).

“Manners aren’t about appearance at all, she had loved to say, they are about kindness” (p279).

“And since actions always bear fruit, you were better off focusing your energy on your actions, rather than worrying about the results you wanted to produce” (p299).

“Honesty, I now realize, only has value when it goes with fairness” (p318).

“His definition of love is pushing us to meet our potential. Unconditional love is an oxymoron to Ma and HRH” (p384).

“Your life is never just yours, love. My life is ted to yours because I love you” (p387).

“And if anyone ever felt that way about me, I’d be brave enough to believe it …. You told me that sometimes you have to be brave and put yourself out there? You also have to be brave to accept what you have, even if you’re terrified of losing it” (p414).

“I didn’t tell you then, but I’ll tell you now. The thing about human beings is that they heal” (p426).

“’Don’t be a damn tourist,’ Vansh had said. ‘Don’t try to see Africa. No one can “see” Africa in ten days. Just stay put and do your work and be’” (p449).

“I know I should tell you the good things more. Sometimes when I try to remember your childhoods, only all the mistakes I ever made come back” (p454).

Even since I decided to own that hikes and walks in nature help me unfurl story snags and otherwise come up with writing ideas, I have been spending one morning per week (usually Thursday) on a hike followed by the afternoon at a coffee shop (actually putting words on the page). I have a usual hiking place and I have a couple usual coffee shops, but I decided that I was curious about the other great writing places around me: where might I find good drinks, good food to snack on or eat for lunch, non-prohibitive prices, a pleasant ambiance, and, maybe most importantly, an atmosphere conducive to camping out with a laptop for hours on end. This atmosphere would need to be friendly toward the worker/studier, but also have frequently free seats with adequate tabletops and power outlets and be not too loud or distracting (though I do have headphones and, when I write, ultra-focus). Then I decided that a tour of hikes and coffee shops in the Triangle (read Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill and its environs) would be a fun way to shake things up once a week; shaking things up is something I thrive on.

Since this is going to take me like half a year at least, I thought I would post my updates every once in a while. I mean, no one wants to read reviews of like seven hundred places at once, anyhow. And if you don’t live around here (or are visiting), then you are under no obligation to read these reviews, at all. Maybe take it as inspiration to find the places around you where a writer can sit and write in quality peace or a writer can get lost in their head in nature. (Keep in mind these are winter pics.)

Week One: Haw River Trail and Cup 22 at the Haw River Ballroom (Graham/Saxapahaw)

Didn’t get a pic of the trail. This is me getting ready for all this hiking. With coffee (which is always decaf, actually).

The Haw River Trail is 2.8 miles, easy walking, and takes about an hour (at least when you’re chatting with a friend). I was with said friend who is very familiar with the area, but I think you have to walk kind of up the road to get to this trail from the café, so you might want to figure that out. Maybe just talk to the barista. After that, you walk up the river and back on a very flat, wooded trail along the Haw River. This time of year it feels smalltown industrial, but I believe that in the summer it would be a lush (if hot) walk in a particularly pretty part of city-side rural North Carolina. It’s worth it largely because of the Haw River Ballroom (with its Cup 22, see below, but also the General Store and bakery). Four stars.

Cup 22 does not have café food, but it has the best coffee, good pastries and donuts, and FOR SURE the best space to write (and just to hang) of any place that I have been to so far. There is PLENTY of space and it is both hip and full of sunshine and historic beauty. It is connected to the “ballroom,” which is a giant space/erstwhile theater, which does mean it is not at all cozy but almost painfully cool. In a pandemic, maybe the large space is a good thing. There are walking trails outside, including a short walk to the previously mentioned Haw River Trail. There are other events held there regularly, so you probably want to check the schedule for open hours before heading out, especially since it is one of the furthest afield of the Triangle options. Five stars if you can drive that far.

Week two: Eno River Buckquarter Creek + Holden Mill Trail and Saladelia (West Durham/Orange County to Durham)

I have hiked the Eno River hundreds of times, no lie. I have hiked the Eno River Buckquarter Creek + Holden Mill Trail tens of times, probably, or if I haven’t then I have at least been to Fews’ Ford to swim that many times—years ago. Few’s Ford is where you would park and begin the Buckquarter Creek Trail, or at least where I did and makes the most sense to me. The trail pinches in the middle at a bridge and if you continue over the bridge you are on now on the Holden Mill loop to extend the hike and, whew, even take a little extension loop at the end of that. (There are also options to hike a less-travelled trail back to the Cox Mountain Trail and its other extenders or to get to that trail via two fords (including Few’s Ford). And there’s an option to Ridge/Fieldstone/Shakori Trail which can create another large loop. For these options, take a map and strong legs and know how to read the map.) I believe that with all three of these loops (Buckquarter, Holden, and extension) complete, I ended up at something like 6 miles. That seems excessive, so it could be as little as 4, but that doesn’t seem right either. (Adding Cox Mountain in any variation would more than double the hike. It’s a long one.) Each successive loop of the trail combination gets more intense, though none of them are crazy intense. If you go past Buckquarter, you are going to have to climb over a couple rocks/boulders and with any of the trails you have some hiking upwards onto the tops of large hills. Don’t go this way if you can’t catch your breath and scramble a little. But Eno River trails are my favorite, so I loved this beautiful, urban (and not at all) yet woodsy hike and it felt good to just walk and walk and walk. Five stars.

Unfortunately, there have been changes at Saladelia lately. A place I have been eating at, meeting friends at, and even writing at for almost twenty years, is no longer a viable writing option, at least for the foreseeable future. Over the past two decades, the cafe had expanded from one storefront to three-attached, and there were plenty of tables and couches to sit on with either a good coffee or some delicious food and work to your heart’s content. However, they recently had to give up their tenancy, I am guessing from rising lease costs, and move abruptly to their catering building. They have outfitted the front of this space so that it is cute and cheery, but, sigh, there is only room for one long table. Outside, they have a tent with more café tables, but finding a spot and then feeling comfortable staying there for a long time? Not good. My lettuce kept blowing away and I felt guilty taking up a seat and table space. The cashier informed me that they mean to expand the space back into a larger dining room, but this will be a long process. Until then, grab a falafel and meet a friend on a nice, sunny day, but maybe wait to hang out and get work done. Temporarily three stars.

Week three: Duke Gardens and The Durham Café (Central Durham)

I have been to gardens around the world—gardens that are meant to impress. I have not been to a garden better than Duke Gardens. I find that many locals don’t understand the value of Duke Gardens, but that’s okay, I guess; they still manage, decade after to decade, to keep the gardens not only “up,” but also constantly improving and enjoyable at every turn and all year ‘round. It is a few bucks to park at Duke Gardens and there are times when they are crowded to the point of obnoxiousness (because they are gardens, not a concert). (Also, FYI, you have to get a permit worth upwards of $100 to take professional photos.) But I can’t think of many better places to walk around and think than Duke Gardens, a place which is close to my home and also close to several good places to sit and write (though not within walking distance). There is a café with outdoor seating at the Gardens, but it is seasonal and keeps strange hours, so I have never attempted to sit there and write. If you are going for the first time, I doubt Duke Gardens would be conducive to actually covering much ground and getting lost in your own head/story space, because there is too much to observe. But for an old-timer like me, even with an ever-changing and -expanding space, it is a wonderful walk on a non-sunny, non-temperate, non-weekend afternoon (because that’s when people flock to the space in droves). You can meander around and make it however many miles you want, only climb stairs if you want, etc. I probably hit three or four miles covering most of the main paths before I left. Five stars.

I was a little dubious that the lobby of a hotel would be a great place to sit and work of an afternoon. But the café at The Durham has created a kind of gathering space for downtown people (I can walk to my hairdresser, among other things). I wandered through the welcoming lobby and up to the bar to order a drink (an NA spritzer) and a snack (there is also regular food available) and then found a table in the enormous windows under the enormous ceilings. There were many other people there meeting with friends and doing work and there was plenty of space (though I wonder if it does occasionally fill up). The food and bev were fine, probably better than fine, but the space is ideal unless the bigness (and related acoustics) is going to distract you. An ideal place for writing downtown Durham which seems to already have been discovered by various students and at-home workers. Four-point-five stars.

Week four: Hemlock Bluffs and Crema (Cary)

A hike at Hemlock Bluffs is maybe 2.5, even 3 miles if you walk the circumference of both East and West loops. It’s mulched, basically, and has decking over wet areas and even some stairs, so it is not difficult to walk. However, the East side does have a number of stairs that must be climbed, so just know you have to be fit enough to go back up the stairs you will first go down. It is a Town of Cary educational forest, which makes me wonder if you might encounter school groups. I didn’t. Apparently, hemlocks are an anomaly in this part of North Carolina at this point in geological history, so a park was built around them and their “bluffs” (baby cliffs) out over Swift Creek. It’s not rural, so there is some noise from nearby roads and even neighborhoods (like lawnmowers), but there were also parts where all I heard was the breeze and the frogs. I thought it was really nice and would be happy to return, especially since it wasn’t very busy during the day (though again I wondered about field trips and even weekends). There were many spots to stop on a bench or step off the trail for a view or to jot down writerly notes, which might be fancier in the green months. Five stars.

I have a strange connection to Crema, but I haven’t been back there (since the one time I was there about ten minutes telling my sister I was pregnant with my son) in, well, more than fifteen years. There are a couple things missing: cool ambiance, for one. Sublime beverages, for another. (I have had some revelatory coffees, teas, and mocktails lately). But still, I liked this place and its workspace because of the outside area which is permanently covered and, at least on this day, had a great breeze and a pleasant vibe. It’s not enormous—inside or out—so it’s possible it would get too full to find a seat or to feel right staying for several hours. But there was something in the feel of the space that would call me to drink their good coffee and work on their patio on a nice day; maybe it felt neighborhood-y though officially in a strip mall. They do not have café food, and I did not get a pastry because they were out of chocolate croissants. Four stars.

Week five: Filament Coffee + Tea (Mebane) and Common Grounds (Apex)

I ended up at Filament (not pictured) not because it was on a list that said it was a great place to write, but because I was meeting a friend for coffee and she suggested it. Which means there was no hike involved in this outing, nor the next three reviews. Sometimes I just find myself out and about and in need of a place to work for a hot minute. Filament might be the furthest from the Triangle-proper on my list, but I include it because I liked it. It is small inside, so you might not find a seat, which is usually a requirement for getting work done. But if you do get a seat, it’s quaint and pretty and has great coffee and tea. There is an element of smalltown animosity which I often find at smalltown shops, (you’d think it’d be the other way around), but then while you are there you can walk the historic, downtown Mebane (did you even know? I didn’t) for some antiques or lunch or something. It’s very small, but cute—okay maybe trendy—as a button. Four stars (due to space limitations).

I ended up at Common Grounds after a nearby lunch with family. It was pretty busy and didn’t have a ton of space, but I did manage to snag a countertop spot by the window looking out into the shopping-area hall. So they are trying for ambiance with their décor, etc, in this downtown Apex spot, but there are limitations considering their location and their size. Great drinks, again, but only pastries available (and they were a bit sparse by the time I arrived). They roast their own coffee and have a strong (extra-mile) business ethic. A lot of locals run through—even on a rainy day—to grab their usual. It was delicious and I got my work done, but found myself wishing for a better space (especially since you could get stuck in the hallway), though they didn’t seem to mind me (or any of the other workers and studiers) there. Three point five stars (due to space limitations and ambiance).

Week six: Sir Walter Coffee + Kitchen, Thanks a Latte, and Ashley’s Harvest Moon Bakery (Holly Springs)

This is not actually a “week” of coffee shops, but I occasionally end up in Holly Springs (while my dog is at the groomer) and need to work for an hour or two. So I have tried a few of the coffee shops and cafes. Originally, I just kept returning to Sir Walter Coffee + Kitchen (not pictured; with, I think, the original in Raleigh) because they make great café drinks and I could sit outside in the Pandemic (though there is a large indoor space). However, the café transitioned to a full-service restaurant and that’s not what I’m looking for. However however, I have just been informed that it is going back to the counter-service café and revamping their menu (which is good because I didn’t really like the restaurant menu, either). So this is a strange review, then. I used to enjoy the old café-style Sir Walter, so I am guessing I would give the new café a five star review. But as it is right now, it doesn’t work for the purpose, so like two stars until March 2023, and then we’ll see.

When Sir Walter no longer worked for me, I checked out Ashley’s Harvest Moon Bakery (not pictured), a place I think I had been when I lived temporarily in the area. It’s not super cool in there. It feels kind of neighborhood-y to the point of nepotism. But I had a decent lunch and a decent drink and sat at a table to do what I needed to. The problem is that people come here for breakfast and lunch and they don’t have an enormous dining room, so I felt a little slimy taking up space for too long and would not have done it at all without purchasing a meal. Once the lunch crowd cleared, I was one of the only people there and there was one other person working. Overall, though, I didn’t think I’d be going back in order to spend a few hours working. It didn’t seem like the right fit. Three stars (for my purposes).

So then I ended up at Thanks a Latte (not pictured). This place has the ambiance of a downtown, smalltown boutique store, which it also is, essentially. Also, you best be warned that it is Christianity-forward. At first, I was like, why is this needed?, and then it occurred to me that many of these types of coffee shops are styled in a way almost antagonistic to the Christian lifestyle, so I guess I get why. It’s not like anyone was shoving tracks in my back pocket, it was just visible in the merchandise, just like Common Grounds’ merchandise is replete with pro-marijuana messaging. Overall, the space is sunny, pleasant, and airy. Good drinks. Only pastries (so no lunch). And when I was there, there were open spots and a welcoming feeling. It is possible it gets full, as the space in medium-sized. Four-point-five stars.

Week seven: NC Museum of Art

There are some rather interesting walks over the grounds at the NC Museum of Art (which can get crowded for large grounds during events and beautiful weekends). Not only do you get outside here, but you get to look at art installments along the way. The trails meet up with the Greenway, as well, allowing you to make a large loop of your walk or even shoot off into Raleigh or back toward RTP on it. There are a reputed 4 miles of trails on the grounds, though since they loop back around on each other, you might not get 4 miles in. If you want to see all the art, you will take all the criss-crossing trails (and you could even go inside for a slower walk through the free museum). I love this space. And what is better for thinking about story than a combination of nature and art? Do note, however, that the Greenway is freeway-side, so nothing about this space is very wild. You always know you are urban though surrounded by green spaces. Small note: There are lots of restrooms. Five stars.

Bonus: you don’t have to leave the grounds to then pull up a café stool and work. There are three “café” options at the museum, including a new outbuilding Welcome Center that is temporarily closed and only open on the weekend in the winter anyways (so not much of an option unless your timing is right and you want to work outside). At the right moment, there are a few tables at this outbuilding, and there are about 10,000 places to sit along the trails and on the grounds. The East Café is more casual, but West Café has better seating for working outside of the restaurant in the hallway/vestibule. The café itself is a sit-down restaurant but if you want to pull up to a couch or a high-top table, you can order a beverage and snack from the QR code on the table (or walk up the café and order before you get yourself settled). Five stars if you find the right space.

Week Eight: Lake Crabtree County Park and Fount (Almost-Morrisville-Cary and Morrisville)

I have had a love-hate relationship with Lake Crabtree County Park for years and years. My daughter used to go to school near here, so my son and I have spent some time wandering this park. While it was a green space to hang out and my son liked to putter around the shore of the lake, I have always been annoyed by some things about it, including that the trails—meant largely for cyclists—are closed when it’s the least bit wet. Frequently. I decided, though, to give the round-lake hike a try by myself and see if that didn’t avoid the bike-trail issues. Ya’ll, I officially now just have a hate-hate relationship with this park with a very small flame of love somewhere buried in my angry heart. Sure, I liked that it was a six-mile loop that changed style frequently and showed me some cool views and even a crane hunting, catching, and eating a fish. But not only is it difficult to find this trail and then easy to lose (it is terribly marked for most of it), it smells like strong farts now and again, and you have to be on high-alert for cyclists who generally are not happy you are there, but the sign at the front of the park said “Trails Open” on this day. Ahem. I walked five miles around the lake (after taking like a half-hour to find the trailhead, as it were)—five miles!—and came across a gated trail with a sign telling me the trail was closed ahead. Then I was dumped unceremoniously on the side of a busy highway. My options were turning around and walking back five miles to my car which I neither had the time nor stamina for, or urban-navigating my way to my car along this highway with barreling semis and bottles of pee in the grass. No joke. Since I know the area and am a skilled navigator, I walked the highway occasionally convinced I had made the wrong decision and would pay with my life. By the time I walked back through the front gate with the “Trails Open” sign mocking me, I was livid and understandably so. If I had seen a ranger anywhere, they would have gotten an earful. But that was not their fate, that day, if indeed they even exist except to put up infuriating signs. Despite how cool and convenient this trail could be, zero frickin’ stars.

And then I gathered up my sweaty and super-crabby self and drove to Fount. Thank the Lord for this place at this moment! I could see the glaring flaws: it was SO busy I waited in a line to order and then had to squeeze myself into a counter-space between people who looked like I was messing with them, and it’s almost painfully hip. However, though the workers seemed to favor regulars (and maybe friends), they were very friendly. Loved the drinks. Loved the food (though pricey, perhaps). And loved the space. And actually, if you just wanted to grab a coffee and write for hours without feeling like a jerk or getting kicked out, there was this bizarre bleacher area where a few people were doing just that without getting in the way of the full-meal peeps. I don’t know if this was on purpose, but it was a notable innovation. I think I loved this place so much because of the open garage doors and the coolness of the whole package. Maybe I shouldn’t rate them so high because it could be a fight to get a table or maybe even a bleacher, but five stars.

Week Eight, More: Eno River Cole Mill Trail and Namu (West Durham)

So, I am no stranger to the Eno River Cole Mill Trail. I have been on this trail hundreds of times. It almost feels more like the home of my memories than any actual home, as it has outlasted them all. I said to my son the last time we were there, “I practically popped you out on this trail and then you walked your whole life here.” He agreed. So clearly I love this trail. It is a “real” hiking trail, as in it is not paved and has no real stairs (though there are a couple bridges). It hovers beside the Eno River for half of the hike and then cuts back to the parking lot through the woods. You could just walk up and back on the river, if that’s your jam. There are a few “beaches” where people are fond of sticking their toes—or even their whole bodies—in the water. Some people fish. You might catch a kayak or canoe going by. And on a perfect Sunday afternoon you are most assuredly not going to be alone. Pea Creek Trail used to run in the opposite direction down the river from the Cole Mill access point, but it has been closed for years and I now have no faith it will reopen. As for the Cole Mill loop, you can double your hike by taking the Bobbit’s Hole Trail loop at the far end. (This is one of the popular, summer, swimming holes for Eno aficionados). It’s more of the same of Cole Mill and loops back at a point at Bobbit’s Hole. Part of what I have always loved about the Eno is that it feels like you are in the middle of nowhere; it’s almost all woods and river. The site says that both trails (Cole Mill and Bobbit’s Hole) together are 2.8 miles and about an hour’s walk (which is quite brisk). I have never managed anything close to this with my son or even husband in tow, as wildlife is far too engaging for rushing. For writing and thinking, however, this would be a great route. Five stars.

And another place that has worked its way into my Durham memories is Namu (not pictured). In the past, these memories were a little dicey. Namu used to be Straw Valley, a coffee shop and venue that could never manage to get its crap together to be open at posted hours and consistent in anything. While it was the coolest space, they were too unreliable to be cherished. Then, years later, Namu happened. It still shares some business-model bizarreness with their predecessor (what exactly is this rabbit warren of twists and turns?), but they are much more professional and a hundred per cent reliable. The only downside here is that even with many rooms (like three indoor and four outside, but they bleed into one another) over a large, winding area, it gets really crowded, which includes parking. And it can be near-impossible to find a friend without texting one another detailed instructions to your location in real time. The plus-sides, however, are more. Great drinks. Great Korean food (though pricey). An amazing ambiance with options. (Would you like to sit in a coffee shop? Or a Korean bar? Or in a bamboo garden? Or a large patio with live music? (Do they still have live music here? I’m not actually sure.) My writing group now meets here once a week on a Monday night and it’s the perfect place at a perfect time. I am happy to keep going back and have no qualms about setting up shop and ordering via QR code to any of the like-two-hundred tables. Five stars.

Image from Wikipedia.com

I was going to bunch some of these Pride and Prejudice retellings that I am plowing through lately together, but decided that was silly. I have the usual amount of stuff to say about each one, so here we go. First, I read and reviewed Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice recently and it coincided with this interest in fanfic. Technically, most people would not call the books I am about to share with you fanfic, but that’s were my interest started. Then I decided to buy a whole stack of Pride and Prejudice retellings used, for like $3 each, as long as they were on the best-ofs list. So curious about this genre (if we can call it that) and armed with both a healthy distance, appreciation for the story and romance, and good knowledge of the plot and characters, I dug in with the first one that arrived.

Perhaps I was judging a genre by its cover, but I was not surprised when Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price was not the best-written thing I’d read all year. I would call the writing “not amazing.” Like, I had to re-read sentences every once in awhile and still wasn’t sure what the author meant by it. There were little mistakes, too. And it wasn’t very flowing; it was easy to get distracted from reading it, even though the plot should have pulled me in. I heard from the outset, though, that this popular but under-four-star rated Pride and Prejudice novel adaptation was a slow burn and to stick with it. I was going to stick with it anyways, because I had bought the thing, was on this Austen kick (again), and I almost always finish the books I start.

This being my first retelling/fanfic book (though technically The Wide Sargasso Sea is an adaptation that could count and I’ve read that), I spent a great deal of time deciding if I enjoyed having the reference to characters and a plot going on in the background of reading a “new” story. I wondered if just deriving inspiration from a plot or characters and then giving them new names with the new twist would not be preferable. Would I like derivative retellings, like The Wide Sargasso Sea, better? The truth is, I have also looked into “real” fanfic lately, and have been surprised to find that almost no books keep the original storyline, characters-as-they-are-on-the-page, etc. Honestly, it seems like fanfic people are less fans (who would, in my opinion, build on the world and characters they love) and more readers who enjoy a gratuitous amount of of startling sex, alternative sexuality, and messing with beloved characters and story which is almost an argument against the original story. (Think Winnie the Pooh and this new horror movie. Or Anne with an E. That’s the kind of stuff An Archive of Our Own and Wattpad seem to thrive off of, much to my disappointment.) That said, back to Pride and Premeditation (which, not being of the online, currently-not-in-the-public-domain kind of fanfic, does not fall into the surprising pitfalls I just shared).

What is the story here? You can probably tell from the title that it is a murder mystery based on Pride and Prejudice. I remained confused throughout about when the story was taking place, but I think I can report to you with some level of confidence (and save you the confusion) based on some things said in Price’s notes that it takes place in the original time frame, but with some strong author’s license. I kept finding myself gravitating mentally toward the late nineteenth/early twentieth century instead of the 1700s regency era, but I think this is because of these wild deviations from history that Price uses to tell the story in a way she wants to (which is acceptable since its fiction, but I was confused in my inner eye, jumping back and forth between regency clothing and London, and pre-WWI clothing and London). Lizzie Bennet, in this version, is not from a backwater town, but from the backwater side of London. Her father is a barrister (Americans read: lawyer) and she, at seventeen, wants nothing more than to become a barrister herself (which is a near-impossibility). In an attempt to get a job ahead of the heir to her father’s business, her disgusting cousin Mr. Collins, she takes on a murder case as both detective (before detectives existed) and solicitor. Sort of. Technically, the obnoxious Mr. Darcy of Pemberley Associates is the solicitor. The plots twist pretty much in the usual way with some fun variations and some rather large changes, too, at least for the side characters. Before long, Lizzie is deep in a complicated case with not only her career, but her own life, hanging in the balance.

Note: Tirzah Price has taken her popularity with Pride and Premeditation, and published Sense and Second Degree Murder and, out soon, Manslaughter Park. Very clever. I’m quite sure there will be three more before she’s done. Let’s see if we can guess the names. Northanger Abduction? Enemy? Court Persuasion? Don’t quote me on that last one.

I thought Pride and Premeditation was fun to read. Very light though it included some of Lizzie’s characteristic introspection and owning up to how her faults had hurt others—and this includes murder. I wouldn’t object to reading some of the other books, but obviously we are going to be starting over each time with characters. It did feel very Enola Holmes in its girl-power, light-hearted, genre-approach to Victorian story. I think Enola Holmes is cute, but I take some offense at its portrayal of Sherlock Holmes as a character and an institution. I suppose some fans of Austen might feel this way about Pride and Premeditation, but they also might just accept that this is not really the same world, just a story based on the romances in Pride and Prejudice with a feisty heroine and, like I said, girl power thrown in. I’m also betting Price had some fun making her most hated characters way worse (and without the scrim of Victorian politeness to protect them) in this version. As for Lizzie, I think this version works. Darcy, on the other hand, is not quite as smoldering as the original. Also, I thought the murder part and mystery part of this story was a little lackluster and not watertight, while the characters where the best part.

A good book for a teen who likes Jane Austen and crime fiction. A fine book for someone who likes Jane Austen and crime fiction and wants to keep things light and beach read-y.

It’s been a minute (more than a month) since I went to Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities for a week-long writing residency. If you’ve been around, you might recognize that place or even that sentence, because it was my fourth residency there (and my fifth residency (and one fellowship) total). What could I possibly have to say to you at this point about residencies (you can just look up the old blogs, after all) or this particular residency?

Well, my career has been changing over time, and perhaps it has never morphed as much as it has in the past six months. Also, I like to think I learn from different residencies and other things. Can I justify that with telling you what I learned at this residency? Maaaaybe. Let’s see… MFA programs are considered by some to only be as good as their networking possibilities. That’s not really that exciting. Okay, how about this? Taking a walk in the woods is an important, possibly even critical, part of my writing process (blog on this forthcoming). Perhaps it is for you, too. You might want to consider it. Or at least some way to move your body and get outside in order to think about the problems that are cropping up in your plot or character development or whatever.

This is the first time that I have been in residence with a friend. I wasn’t actually planning on any more residencies until at least the spring, but I had a writer friend send me an email in December saying they were going to be in residence at Weymouth and if I (or one of our other writer friends) would apply for that same week and get in, that would be a nice time. So I did apply, but that week was full. I was offered the next week and took it and apparently that week wasn’t full because my friend ended up extending her stay (as did her husband, a songwriter) through my week. Huzzah! I didn’t quite know how this would work, but it turns out that, at least with Anita and Wes, this was the best of ideas. There was a lot of mutual respect for time and work but also some downtime together and even some sharing of workspaces that led to work-related conversations about everything from submissions to great books, MFA programs to character development. (There was one obnoxious hitch, which was that I was exposed—and I mean EXPOSED, like I can’t believe I didn’t get it—to Covid two days before I left, so I had to be all super-careful about eating around and being unmasked around anyone for, well, the CDC recommended 10 days at the time. If that hadn’t been the case, I probably would have also spent some meals with them and that would have been even better.)

I always enjoy a week (or two) at Weymouth. I like my “hikes” at the reservoir, my walks into the Country Bookshop and to Swank coffee shop, my little runs to the grocery store and takeout from some Indian restaurant or other. I like making fancy, Devon-centric meals in the little kitchen and wandering the haunted halls and pretty gardens and was surprised that I enjoyed all this even in the winter. I appreciate the space that Weymouth has devoted to (4 at a time) North Carolina (published) writers and that they seem to have such loyalty to those of us who like to frequent (with a max of two weeks per year) their writers’ wing.

Here’s the other thing. I won Nanowrimo in November, writing for the first book of a YA trilogy. I hadn’t done much with it in December, the holidays being what they are. My early-January stay at Weymouth was actually great timing for getting a whole lot more words on the page (sorry, I didn’t keep track of how many) and spending hours and hours elbow-deep in notecards while I not only story-planned but figured out just what story-planning was coming to look like for me. (I also spent maybe an hour at Michael’s figuring out how I could take my inclinations and my new plotting-training and turn it into an actual thing. It involves notecards, colored notecards, and little boxes to hold the notecards in separate piles.) Though I came back from all these words and work and struggled a little while longer with getting lots of words written consistently in my real life, I did get my butt in gear in a few weeks, having moved from Save the Cat! Writes a Novel to Writing Mastery Academy (online, blog coming soon). I think part of this process to where I am today (2,000 words daily with a finish goal for book one on March 10) is because of leaping back into the book in early January. During the residency. It’s the residency’s fault.

Thanks again, Weymouth. I’ll be back soon.

Image from Amazon.com

Here’s the thing: in the spirit of no spoilers, I fear the marketing and reviews of The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James are so cautious that they don’t adequately warn a reader what they are getting into. This is not a romance. This is not a light-hearted coming-of-age story. The blips out there that call the book a psychological thriller are the closest I’ve seen to actually, without spoilers, letting readers know what they are about to read. It is definitely YA and a psychological thriller and it is science fiction and it includes, sort of, some romance (though more like references to the romance that she enjoys in fan fic). But because of the way this book unfolds, it’s going to attract two different types of readers and since those two types won’t always be combined in one person, it’s going to lose some interested readers before the end of the first chapter (even though they’d like the second half) and others half-way through. And I am going to say it: it gets violent. It gets scary. Believe it or not, it could also be categorized as horror. That doesn’t give a thing away. It just lets you know before page 200 that you don’t want to read it if you scare easily or don’t tolerate violence.

I mean, I found the tension over what this book was going to become actually drew me in. It felt just a teeny, teeny bit creepy, at least increasingly so. However, when I finished the book at 11:30 and then turned out the lights and went to bed, I had one crappy night. I had nightmares. And though they were my own style and particulars, they very clearly came from the final chapters of Loneliest Girl. Very. Clearly. And when I woke up in the middle of the night and felt like there were murderous, intelligent gorillas in the corners of my room (there are no murderous, intelligent gorillas in this book, that is where my style came in), I knew it was this stupid book, but I was terrified anyway.

It’s not really a stupid book. And I feel like if I had read it on a sunny day and then watched Pride and Prejudice before bed, I probably would have been fine. Not that this was my favorite book, either. It’s really YA-y, and yet the plot is very compelling and what it has to say about coming of age and being alone (and even the future of science) is quite interesting. I just found the writing to be ehn. Actually, I sometimes found the writing to be less than ehn. More like ug. But I doubt that the average teen reader will have my same poetic scruples or even grammatical standards. I could see a lot of people enjoying the mix of genres, the mix of first person and epistolary forms, and the subject matter.

Note: I read this book because it was on a list I made of fiction, particularly YA fiction, dealing with NDEs. Don’t ask me how it got on that list. It has nothing to do with NDEs. It is appropriate reading for the YA adventure fantasy trilogy I’m writing, anyhow.

Romy Silvers is your average highschooler and she’s nothing like your average highschooler. Sure, she’s dealing with puberty and awakening desires and schoolwork motivation, but she is also living alone on a spaceship bound for a very distant planet which Earth hopes to colonize with, well, her. Technically, the plan was to colonize with the hundreds of brilliant astronaut couples that were on board the ship when they set out years before. But things didn’t go as planned, and now the baby born on board is a teenage girl who is completely alone, captaining the ship, and still like ten or twenty years out from attempting colonization with the embryos in the freezer. Her only contact with Earth and NASA is a voice who keeps tabs on her named Molly, until she puts Romy in contact with another ship, a ship moving so fast it will catch up to her in about a year and speed her toward Earth II—no longer alone. But Romy’s communication is slow and limited, which means she has to trust what is being told to her. And she’s not so sure…

It is, as I said, a coming of age story and it deals with being alone, grief, fear, anxiety, and love, among other things. The delivery system is unique, especially when you realize it’s about to take you on a roller coaster and there are going to be some twists. At first you think the mysteries are obvious, like what happened in the past to land Romy alone like this and will she make it to Earth II? But the mysteries keep popping up, and there are layers to what happened in the past and what is happening in the present. Creepy becomes terrifying. And you are left guessing up until the end, on the edge of your seat, being given little bits of information along the way. There is also some level of investment in Romy, too. As an adult, I sometimes found her silly and, uh, immature. But as a story about being a teen, most of this is not only appropriate but pitch perfect. Romy, in some crazy ways, could be any of us as teens and her unique life is on some levels just a metaphor for being a teen and especially a teen in a pandemic and during the age of social media. Also, who’s to say how a kid who can see the world through media but had (only) parents until she was like eleven and then has been completely isolated and living in a very narrow space since then would even be like?

There were, I thought, a couple plot holes. They are both related to what Romy doesn’t realize until way after she probably would or should have. Like, there are a couple obvious things she doesn’t question. We’re supposed to think she’s just carried away by potential friendship/romance, I think, but these two holes are a little unbelievable, even allowing for the science fiction. (I mean, she thinks for a second that the dude is alone? That’s vague enough, since there are a hundred ways for it to play out.) And she didn’t realize she’d be famous?

Despite the lackluster writing, I would recommend this book across most teens and even some interested adults. I would, however, provide the warning that it is going to meander through genres until it lands someplace much more intense and scary/violent than where it started. Perhaps the creepy tension could have been built in earlier, but there is something about the journey that is kind of fun.

QUOTES:

“Is no life at all better than the constant fear and fight for survival I face every day? …. Whatever happens, I can’t see a point in time when I will ever be happy. For the rest of my life, I’ll be struggling. I’m always going to be moments away from sinking completely” (p228).

MOVIE:

There is not actually a movie for this book, nor do I see that any are being thought of. Though it was not my favorite book, it does seem like it would make an excellent movie and one that would be on point for what’s popular right now. Just sayin’.

The genius of Jane Austen aside, I have to admit that this story held very  few surprises for me. Thanks to movies, cultural allusions, and adaptations, I read this book feeling very much like I had read it already. Several times. And yet…

Image from Amazon.com

There is a reason Austen’s six novels (she died too early!) are all classics. There is a reason Pride and Prejudice has been remade several times and adapted into other forms and stories. Sure, not everyone is going to read Austen because she is from another place and time, so her writing is “old fashioned.” But if you are someone who doesn’t mind a little heavier reading, then her books are a must-read. And yes, they are not literary fiction—more popular—but that would only serve to recommend her to some people. Even if you are a literary fiction person, if you could just chill out for a second, you might learn a thing or one hundred from Austen’s writing and even enjoy the actual story.

As far as the writing, it’s definitely credible. I’m not blown away by descriptions or the poetry of the language, but the writing is a clear and straight-forward vehicle for the acrobatics that will thrill, which are more in the wit-vein. The writing is engaging, too, by keeping you on the edge of your seat at almost all times and showing much more than telling. And you have to stay on your toes (oh, mixed metaphors again!) because if you don’t pay attention you will miss much in her books (and even the movies). Austen’s subtlety and layers of interactions are one of the most genius things about her writing. Hardly ever is a scene meant to be read on only one level, and somehow she conveys to us the interpretations of several characters all at once. I feel fully engaged while reading Austen, and Pride and Prejudice is no exception. It also contains Austen’s characteristic engaging, well-drawn characters, great (and frequent) plot twists, and most of all, wit, humor, and amazingly crafted situations. She is known as a romance novelist, but her comedy and depth, even her wisdom and preservation of a small society in history, should also be admired. I mean, part of the real charm of her stories arises from the strangeness that was Victorian society, especially the regency era and in the upper classes. But the way she captured the tensions and absurdities—! This is how you tell a frickin’ story, folks.

As for Pride and Prejudice, specifically, it is her most popular book and the romance of Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy is considered one of the great love stories of all time. These two characters are the “pride” and “prejudice” of the title, though those words have slightly different meanings to us modern readers than to what a Victorian reader would have understood. Pride was a two-sided coin, with dignity and right behavior (and breeding) on one side and vanity (bad) on the other. Prejudice just refers to letting first impressions and presuppositions reign, like judging a book by its cover. If you don’t already know the story (which it is highly likely you do), then it is about the Bennet family and their five, country gentlemen’s daughters. The two eldest daughters are quite pretty, sensible, and even-keeled, while the mother and the younger three are just a hot mess of loud-mouthed and inappropriate. An eligible, rich bachelor moves to town and all sorts of antics ensue which involve not only the man and his two snobby sisters (and of course various schemes for marrying into money), but also his BFF, Darcy, who it appears can barely stand to look down his nose as these country bumpkins. A large cast of characters gets all up in the business, including the rogue Whickham and a whole gaggle of soldiers, the neighbors, and a handful of other relatives representing the gone-wrong and gone-right versions of the basically middle class and also the practicality of marrying for security.

Austen basically invented the romance, and she understood some things about story from the very beginning: characters change; there are enormous stakes; all the good guys must fall into a dark night of the soul; everyone is not what they immediately appear; etc. By the way, this is romance but much more “innocent” due to the time period. It is also not just romance. It’s, as I said, comedy and well, just popular fiction as well. But the love stories in Austen are what really appeal to most people. They are complicated and compelling and we are so afraid that everything might fall apart while we’re reading. If you’re concerned the stories might be a touch out of touch (aka anti-feminist), then I don’t think you need to really worry. Of course we don’t approve of the way that property is handed down in Victorian England or that a woman had to marry in order to survive (and couldn’t, like, chose to have a job or something), but neither does Austen, as far as I can tell. Elizabeth Bennet (and the other heroines) are pretty feisty for their time period, and do often express forward-thinking ideas. And they frequently resolve to go it alone until they accidentally fall in love. And, sorry, but everybody wants love (except sociopaths).

(Unimportant note: I do not enjoy reading books that are in one, giant binding with other books. It makes me feel like I’m getting nowhere fast and also they are not practical to carry around town. Also, my old version has quite a few typos.)

Pride and Prejudice is a great story. The only downside is if you have watched the movies too many times that you can’t be surprised. Even so, I enjoyed reading it because it is, in the end, the best version of the story and I always read Austen while admiring her deft skills. Classic. Just classic.

QUOTES

“Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us” (p241 in The Modern Library’s The Complete Novels of Jane Austen).

“…but there are very few of us who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement” (p242).

“Women fancy admiration means more than it does” (p313).

“I have no idea of there being so much design [conspiracy] in the world as some persons imagine” (p313).

“…handsome young men must have something to love on as well as the plain” (p322).

“My good qualities are under your protection, and you are to exaggerate them as much as possible” (p460).

MOVIES

It appears that maybe a year ago I watched a number of the Pride and Prejudice movies/series and adaptations, and then didn’t review a single one. What the turd? Well, I will go ahead and rewatch some of them for you, leave some to your own viewing, and do a light review of those I am just not going to re-watch at this point in time. I will do this in real-time and update the reviews as I watch.

Pride and Prejudice (1940) (also ‘52, ‘58, ‘67) – This black and white version (and these other black and white version) started early with film adaptations of Austen. The first one is said to be fairly inaccurate to the text, and I’m not sure that I will get around to them, though the 1940 version still gets good reviews.

Pride and Prejudice (1980) – This British miniseries is considered one of the most true to the original. I may watch it. We’ll see.

Image from IMDB.com

Pride and Prejudice (1995) – This BBC miniseries is also considered pretty darn true to the novel and looks to be pretty accurate to the historical period. That’s why the miniseries: so they could include it all. I have watched this a few times, including right now, actually, and I have mixed feelings about it. The best part is that Colin Firth plays Darcy (a role which he would basically Reprise in Bridget Jones’ Diary) and he became, with it, the quintessential Darcy. But I have this unaccountable dislike for the gal who plays Elizabeth and the way that she plays it. (The book version of her is much better.) And, fine, be accurate or whatever, but I can appreciate a more stylized version. I mean, something like Bridgerton is a lot more satisfying stylistically because it’s hip and full or eye candy even though it stretched authenticity to its limit. But just so you know, this one is always highly rated and it’s likely you’ll enjoy it.

Image from IMDB.com

Pride and Prejudice (2005) – I have also watched this a few times. My main complaint is that Keira Knightley can, in no way, shape or form, pull off the less-attractive sister. I don’t know why they tried. Seriously. Other than that, it’s a great movie with great cinematic moments, cinematography, and settings. It’s pretty truncated and therefore misses a whole lot (and also some of the characters are not really in the right spirit for the original), but it’s a beautiful, romantic movie and I would—probably will—watch it again. I suppose this is my favorite, so far. (Note that I also have favorites for each character in different versions. If only Colin Firth were in this version…)

ADAPTATIONS (the most lauded ones)

Pride and Prejudice: A Latter-Day Comedy (2003) – It’s supposed to be tongue-in-cheek and takes place in modern-day Utah, I’m imagining in Mormon culture. I plan to check it out.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016) – I’ve been avoiding this for years because I don’t like gore and am a scaredy cat. The books it is based on is not in my TBR. Bit I think I have gotten curious enough to give it a try. And yes, it involves zombies as well as the Revolutionary War.

Unleashing Mr. Darcy (2016) – a Hallmark movie with a dog show/show dogs. Hmm…

Bride and Prejudice (2004) – I’m definitely going to finally watch this Bollywood version.

Pride, Prejudice and Mistletoe (2018) – a Hallmark, Christmas version. Maybe next Christmas?

Image from IMDB.com

Austenland (2013) – which I watched last time I was on an Austen movie kick. I forgot to review it, though I swear I did. Maybe it’s in an older journal. I remember liking it to a point. Well worth the watch. Predictable. Funny to a point. Innovative to a point. A fangirl goes on a vacation to an immersive Jane Austen resort. Austen-like plots unfurl, but with modern twists. If you are an Austen fan, definitely watch it. Even if you just like rom-coms, this is cute.

Christmas at Pemberley Manor (2018) – and more Hallmark, more Christmas. Who knew?

Bridget Jones Diary (2001) – yeah, I know this one, intimately. And I wrote a review when I read the book a few years ago. Here is that review: “Like I said, I watch this movie every pre-Christmas holiday. It is, like its counterpart, a classic of popular cinema. It is similar in tone to the book [Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding], although, like I said, the story itself is pretty different, borrowing scenarios from the book more than the actual story. Zellweger famously put on weight for her role, and everyone does a great job acting out the people who rotate around her. Full of classic scenes (which were not usually from the book). Grant plays a great rogue. Firth a great, bumbling but accomplished nice guy. Etc. It’s a well-put-together romantic comedy of the blockbuster sort. And if you’re an Anglophile… Easter egg alert: Both Hugh Grant and Colin Firth are mentioned in the book, which is awesome because they became the two actors who played the male counterparts to Renee Zellweger’s Bridget.” I didn’t even mention Pride and Prejudice in the review because I have seen the movie so many times I forget that’s even where the story comes from. It should be mentioned that Colin Firth is considered the quintessential Darcy (see above) and reprises his role here as Mark Darcy as a modern day barrister opposite Rene Zellweger’s Bridget Jones (feisty-pants Elizabeth Bennet) and Hugh Grant stands in as a type of Whickham (though not that much of the actual story is retained, just the idea of the romance, really).

Death Comes to Pemberley (2013) – This miniseries is meant as a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, so it goes off-script completely. I have meant to watch it, and so I probably will now.

Lost in Austen (2008) – This modern take (with a classic switcheroo) looks similar to Austeland. I would like to watch it.

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (2012-13) – I have never before heard of this, but the modern YouTube miniseries looks completely innovative. I plan to give it a looky-loo.

Image from Amazon.com

Full disclosure: I read this book as part of a pre-release group. I had already pre-ordered a copy for the January 24 release date when I was rushed a copy in early January to participate in an online discussion with the author. There is more to disclose. I went to college with author Sara Billups. She was ahead of me and was the editor of the literary magazine. When she left, this was my job (for a year). We may have had a poetry class together, as well. I have been watching her career for a little while (as she writes for the New York Times and whatnot) because I would love for her to succeed beyond her wildest dreams but also, more recently, because she started publishing a monthly newsletter (Bitter Scroll) for Christians who can no longer identify with the evangelical bull crap. (That’s a gross oversimplification, but I hope you get my drift.) She calls it a “newsletter on culture and Christianity” on her website. To be fair, I always begin a book with hope and expectation. I just have more reasons to be on board with this particular book, Orphaned Believers by Sara Billups.

What did I think about the writing? Not surprising to me, I found a great voice speaking to me from the pages. Billups uses narrative story-telling to make this book half-memoir and personal reflection, which is endearing, trust-building, and frankly beautiful. Beautiful is a word I would also use to describe her writing, as is surprising, at times (at least when she is in memoir mode), especially given the genre. I did find that it sometimes the writing didn’t flow (like when she was in historian/theologian mode). Sometimes Billups opens up a discussion or a conversation and then just leaves it hanging there and moves on. This feels intentional, but it’s not easy for my ADHD brain to just shift gears and move on. In the end, it all comes together, but the reader needs to become comfortable sitting with questions and “mystery” to the point that things sometimes jump around or lurch forward. I’m not ruling out that this was also an editing issue.

At the end of the book (the ending/epilogue was so good), I find myself asking myself about the genre. I mean, I expected it to be a self-help kind of Christian lifestyle book, but that’s not it. I also was expecting some sort of theological book, arguing the points of basic Christianity and blowing away the chaff that has built up enough to take over the modern, American church. Billups does offer us some hope and solutions of a sort, in the end, but this is more of a careful wending through Billups’ life juxtaposed with other Gen-X-ers with historical signposts along the way. It is the story of her father, who is dying of cancer, and how Sara deals with that in light of the Christian faith that he has handed down to her and that she has felt “orphaned” from for an adulthood. In so many ways, too, the book doesn’t take sides. She’s not here to pit anyone against evangelicals or even to hash out theology or very specific but large-looming things. She does cut through the bullcrap and she does make it clear that the church has gone far astray in some more general areas (yay for someone finally spotlighting consumerism/materialism as one of the main issues with the American Evangelical church!), but unbelievably (because how difficult to do and maintain) she actually leaves room at the table for everyone.

I found Orphaned Believers to be thoughtful, considerate, respectful, and humble. And calming. And a hand held out in an isolating darkness. Billups is not trying to relate to absolutely everyone, which did leave me a little high and dry on some of the Gen-X issues that I personally am parsing out, like the Purity Movement, and left me a little on the outside when she talked about “End Times Kids.” Yet, she makes sense out of the history of the evangelical church in America, so I was like, well this is important. And this is clearly her experience of hurt and disappointment with the same. And somehow, in there, just listening to her story woven with church history, I felt calm and hopeful. Billups is clearly studied and educated, as well as wise. So much of it resonated and I know would resonate with others I have been talking to, not just Gen-X-ers or kids who grew up thinking the actual apocalypse was just around the corner. The message of the book is hope for the church and a call for those who feel orphaned to rise up and reform the church.

Here’s another thing: I have mentioned this book several times in the past month to people in passing conversations. Nearly all of them have gone wide-eyed at the title. People want this book. People need this book. The pandemic and the wild parallel ride that has been politics and the evangelical church has left many, many people feeling as “orphaned believers.” (Some were feeling this way long before this, turns out.) When they hear the phrase, they reach out with their hearts: That’s me! And when I joined the pre-reading group, I was not surprised to find myself surrounded virtually by more of these orphaned believers, from their laptop perches across the country. As I have struggled (read: walked through some stuff) with church and faith in the past couple of years, I have noticed, slowly, that I am far from alone. I have rippled outwards and have found rocks in the water in concentric circles. Billups has formed a rallying point for these people, a light on a hill. As for me, watch out. If I see you sometime and we get to talking about anything even remotely about the Church, Christianity, evangelicalism, or even how I have been doing (like as a sincere question) or what 2022 was like for me, I might strong-arm this book into your TBR. I know these orphaned believers. I am one, though I know more­-orphaned believers, and I intend to throw them a life preserver, even if it’s just the realization that this is a book, it’s a term, which means they are far from being alone.

There might have been some things that Orphaned Believers didn’t address that I really wish had been. Maybe that just means that I am waiting for the next book. Maybe that’s just because this book isn’t exactly what I thought it was going to be. In fact, the book is a breeze of an older style of reflective book, a nice step away from the frenetic, self-indulgent books I often find when I go seeking. I would really like this book to become a part of the wider conversation that is taking place in the Church and the American Church. I have hopes and wishes that it will.

QUOTES:

“…Spirit of God can work even, and especially, in our wandering” (p14).

“As a Christian, you may be called to hope for impossibilities. To think thoughts that are both logical and intellectually aligned with science and your senses—while grappling with the possibility of holy visitations, physical healings, and the giving of spiritual gifts. You sign up for the whole story, even the mysterious…” (p19).

“Christian trouble reaches down into the middle of us, where our identity is being tugged at by the market, our current cultures, and our own desire to win and be remembered” (p20).

“…if your identity gives you access to power, comfort does not demand reformation” (p20).

“In reality, no matter what worldview we hold, the earnest Christian who holds the opposite opinion is just as much ‘in’ Christ” (p21).

“There’s wilderness in all of us. We’re lost and found a little every day. Lost or found, followers of Jesus make up the church” (p29).

“’It’s alright to think about streets flowing with milk and honey, but God has commanded us to be concerned about the slums down here, and his children who can’t eat three square meals a day’” (Martin Luther King Jr., p53).

“…in the losing there is nothing hidden. In full, plain light there is hope for restoration…” (p60).

“…at any moment we could irrevocably ruin our souls for eternity. It leverages fear as a salvation tactic instead of grace. But salvation is a gift from God. It is not fleeting” (p79).

“…I grew up with parents and church leaders who have, unwittingly or tacitly, followed a fear-based salvation template that bypassed spiritual formation” (p79).

“…families who were suspicious of Christian spirituality and contemplative practices may have inherited an impoverished version of faith” (p79).

“…to the untrained eye it would appear we were more successful at being middle-class, white, Midwesterners than Christians” (p82).

“…we ended up buying like everyone else, too, to support Christian industry. We also spent energy that would have been better directed toward the deep resources that have connected and sustained the church throughout time” (p82).

‘“Jesus was both countercultural and drew everyone to belonging …. His church can again be a big tent with all nations imagining a strangely beautiful and universally compelling future” (p87).

“Instead, what often animates American discussions is a thin sense of freedom based on a myth of rugged individualism” (p101).

“Instead of a rich practice of using liturgy and listening prayer to form a foundation that could withstand a changing culture, I was fed vacation Bible school curriculum and Christian summer camp songs around the fire that burned out after the weeklong programs concluded” (p132).

“Instead, Ignathian indifference is an active and healthy detachment from a decision, person, or experience. In my life, it looks like coming to an open-handed posture in front of two sides of an idea or choice and being willing to let one or both things go if they do not bring me closer to God’s purpose” (p135).

“Our faith is supernatural, but it is also reasonable” (p136).

“There is something so wonderfully out of control about believing in a God we can’t prove” (p140).

“…the church as too often not been a countervoice of love but instead succumbed to anxiety and presumptions that led to self-preservation” (p155).

“It’s a compulsion to anticipate needs instead of the alternative of leaving margin for want” (p160).

“Praying, ‘God, do what you will,’ with full hope sometimes leads to a miraculous restoration and other things brings endurance for unanswered burdens” (p166).

“Jesus is the one who draws hearts that will be drawn. It’s not our job to do anything except love each other well and serve each other before ourselves” (p167).

“Instead of manifesting through an emotive spectacle, God is close in middle of the night ruminations. Jesus, with clear eyes, often works in quiet, away from stage lights and the merch booth, to bring consolation and hope. The Holy Spirit’s presence can burn through any fog of grief and bring healing—no cloud of gold dust in sight” (p168).

“…Jesus says, ‘If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me’” (Message Bible, p173).

“’Are we really nonreligious, or are our belief systems too bespoke to appear on a list of major religions in  Pew phone survey? …. Our new belief system is a blend of left-wing political orthodoxy, intersectional feminism, self-optimization, therapy, wellness, astrology, and Dolly Parton’” (Leigh Stein, p174).

“There is little difference between a self-help influencer and a Christian driven by self-preservation and comfort …. Anyone who decenters their own ambition to serve the poor and speak against injustice is closer to Christ than a cultural Christian” (p175).

“And none of us can make up a story more gorgeously decentered than the gospel story” (p177).

“Let’s go back to spiritual milk before solids, while looking for the swift work of the Holy Spirit to bring new hope and life. Let’s winsomely preach the truth” (p181).

“…to spend a lot of anxious energy skirting around that identity, for whatever reason, is tiring and kind of boring. God holds our identity, and we can stop striving” (p182).

“Simone Weil said a daring thing: ‘Christ likes us to prefer truth to him because, before being Christ, he is truth. If one turns aside from him to go toward the truth, one will not go far before falling into his arms’” (p182).

“But the Christian story redefines our identities away from people who produce and purchase. Jesus untethers our worth from work and lifestyle and invites a loosening of our grip on the things we buy and ways we fill our times” (p191).

“The pandemic invited us to reorient our hearts not in spite of but in the very presence of daily disuptions layered on top of fear, uncertainty, and lack of control. / In these moments, I sometimes oray Psalm 18:19. ‘He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.’ The Christian story offers a spaciousness of the heart, a peace that isn’t understandable and that holds steady with each daily trial, grief, and fear” (p192).

“’O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek / to be consoled as to console, / to be understood as to understand, / to be loved as to love’” (St. Francis, p194).

“’To expect to much is to have a sentimental view of life and this is a softness that ends in bitterness. Charity is hard and endures’” (Flannery O’Connor, p195).

“In all contexts, Christians can choose to be who we are. To say, ‘I belong here,’ in humility, instead of taking a defensive, reactionary, or cloistered posture …. To be plain. To not hide” (p199).

“The role of Christians in this work is clear: we are invited to heal from any pain we have experienced, repent from any wounds we have caused, and embody a better way forward” (p205).

“The timeless, omnipotent Spirit of God wants to dwell in our bodies, which do and think stupid things. Which grow people and lose people. Which mourn and grieve and eat processed food and go to the movies. Which get old and slow. Which age and produce cysts, which divide cells and kill us from within. The Holy Spirit wants to dwell in our deterioration. Because the Holy Spirit is that good” (p212).

“It doesn’t matter of the church is reformed quickly or slowly. If our hearts are hungry or receiving complete nutrition. All that matters is Christ. Loyal, thick, bioluminescent, eternal love. Love kindled in our grotesque and gorgeous minds, bodies, souls, and spirits” (p214).

The idea behind “fast-drafting” is to prepare yourself ahead of time so that when you get to the point when you are ready to write your first draft, you can just buckle down and fly through it. You don’t work backwards, revise, edit, or get distracted. You don’t even worry all that much about quality. It is a concept that I had filed somewhere in my brain because of Nanowrimo, that month every year (November) when writers put 50,000 words toward a novel on the page and track their progress and encourage one another and whatnot. I already understood that if I spent October (Preptober) getting all my story ducks in a row, I could manage 1600 words per day in November. So while the concept—even the practice (I won Nano this year)—wasn’t foreign to me, I hadn’t exactly thought of applying it in a broader way to the writing life.

Then I got perhaps half-way through my current writing project and thought, I think I’m missing something. There has to be a quicker way to do this when I’m not in Nanowrimo or at a residency. I mean, life just has a way of getting in the way of vague goals. I did some poking around. I wound up in a Fast-Drafting online class (which I will talk about in a few posts from now) and spent Monday and Tuesday of this week in build-up activities, largely rearranging my schedule and my, erm, attitude. Today, I began.

According to math and to an online tracker I am using, I have to write around 1800 words each day every weekday and I will be done around March 10 with the first draft of The Edge. (I already wrote half of this rather long book. It’s impossible to give it an exact date because I can only guess how long my first draft manuscript will be. But I can make an educated guess, which I put at 110,000.) I am pumped. I really do have to put out a lot of actual work in in the next few months, so fast drafting is part of what I am doing to make sure that happens. The key here is discipline, and, so I am told, routine. Since I don’t exactly thrive with too much routine, I have varied my Tuesdays and Thursdays a little bit to include a workshare, a hike, and a trip to a coffee shop.

You are welcome to nag me about how I am doing. I have reached out for some accountability and, well, my husband always has one eye on me and that’s helpful. But I do think I can sustain this whole thing. I did Nano, after all, and with my daughter receiving college acceptances in the mail I have a new fire lit under my butt. You are also welcome to join me. Give yourself a few days to figure this thing out (and if you haven’t already “planned” your novel to some extent, you’ll need a few more weeks to do that, too), then grab the schedule I have graciously included below and jump in with both feet. With me. One. Two. Three…

My Daily Work Schedule for Fast-Drafting, Now Until March 10

(Inspired and in some places dictated by Jessica Brody’s Fast-Drafting Class on Writing Mastery Academy)

Feed and take out the pupBreakfast, tea, medsDishes and news while kids get out the doorJournalMeditation/reflection/a spiritual momentMON, WED, FRI: Yoga; TUES: order lunch and go to workshare; THURS: hike and go to caféRemove distractions from workspace/tidy up and include tissues, chapstick, and waterTurn tech to Do Not DisturbClose all documents except manuscript, Invisible Revision Checklist, and timer appCreate a new, blank file (I do this in my Scrivener document and put the date on it)Read yesterday’s notes to selfStart the timer for two hoursWrite like the wind for two hoursRecord my word count and marvel at my progressWrite notes to myself about what I will write tomorrowMove any existential, story crises to my journal to ponder laterOrganize my Invisible Revision ChecklistGloat (or grovel) at my accountability partnerMON, WED, FRI: LunchMON, WED, FRI: Walk the pup/get the mailMON: blog and email; TUES: work to-dos and go home; WED: submissions and applications; THURS: work to-dos and go home; FRI: blog and manage social mediaDo 1-2 chapters of further writing education

(There are some other books titled After. This should not come as a surprise. I’m not talking about those books.)

Image from Amazon.com

After by Bruce Greyson, M.D. is nonfiction. It is a sort of recounting of Greyson’s decades studying NDEs (near-death experiences), from his first encounter and complete dubiousness to many serious studies, research, and affiliations to his final conclusions and further hypotheses. It is broken down into questions that Greyson asked as he journeyed along in his decades of NDE studies, and the way that he answered those questions (or asked new ones) in his career. It is clear that Greyson went on a journey as both a physician and a man that expanded his idea of how consciousness and the brain interact and what exactly consciousness is (or could be). It is also clear that what he now knows (in opposition to much of what seems to be taught to medical students and other students of science) is consistent with theories that are thousands of years old and based on thousands (at least) of anecdotal (and sometimes scientific) information that is amazingly consistent.

I actually picked up this book because I am writing a series of books that, although they are fantasy, use NDEs as a major component of the story. In my books, there is a blending between the fantasy world and the real world, and NDEs are a sort of bridge between them. I didn’t want to get NDEs “wrong,” but I also knew I was going to include many things that either are completely made up or are symbolic for things that we don’t know or can’t be described accurately. At any rate, I wanted to read some of the best literature (for lay people)/do research on actual NDEs. It doesn’t hurt that I have heard two podcast episodes in the past year about NDEs and NDE research and find the whole field of study (including sense limitation, the concept of other dimensions, and the supernatural as actually quite natural) invigorating and fascinating.

Yet, After can be dry, though I found this mostly true when Greyson was being repetitious. (I believe he is repetitious to be clear and also to reinforce points that he made earlier in the book, sometimes even just in the last chapter or last couple pages. In a way, this book could be read as a series of articles, or one chapter could be read independently of the others. Though I am not recommending that, exactly. It is also repetitious in Greyson’s insistence of his ongoing suspiciousness/curiosity and science as curiosity and questions, which I believe is probably reactive to many years of being labeled a pseudo-scientist.) Still, since there are so many stories in this book, it was mostly super-engaging for a nonfiction book of its type. Also, the information is, well, it’s life-changing, ground-breaking. I was at the edge of my seat because I, too, had so many questions and at times I couldn’t believe what I was reading (though I could. But there are so many engaging stories and revealing statistics/patterns).

And while After may not land in any tidy, religious tradition (to the contrary), I imagine most readers will take all this information and run with it—in their own worldview, but also to expand it. Not all of us have NDEs to change how we look at the world (and what’s beyond our current perception and understanding, including that of consciousness and mind (or soul)), but we do have After (and Proof of Heaven and Heaven Is for Real and a few other books, though those are mostly less rigorous and more religious). Ironically, what many people will read into After is that none of this scientific pontification is even going to matter, in the end, but I found that—in the face of many scientific questions that can’t be studied in exactly the way we might want to study (or prove/disprove) them—Greyson goes on a journey of question and possible answer that is extremely fascinating and I’m not the least bit surprised that the mind and brain may be working together in ways that go beyond the Western science (and assumptions) of the past—I don’t know—100 years. We know there are frontiers where we still know very little: deep sea, outer space, the past, time, subatomic particles, and the brain (or perhaps we’re talking more about our mind, our us). Why would we be surprised that our categorizations of them are flat-out wrong, at least in what Greyson calls the “extremes”? Why would it upset people when new scientific findings match up with historical traditions? Perhaps astronomy history has taught us that the church (and therefore believers) and science are enemies, which obviously does not always have to be the case. People’s experiences aren’t false, it’s their interpretation and/or memory of them that is often wrong. People saw the same, straight (to the naked eye) horizon, but their interpretation (flat, disclike) was wrong (instead of gigantic, spherical). (Flat earthers, please take your comments elsewhere.)

I guess what I’m saying is that After is an exciting book. It is full of more questions even than answers, but the information is fascinating. It is also exciting to imagine where science could take us in the future, if we are willing to let truth, instead of tradition, guide us. Are body and consciousness separate things? Well, they certainly could be, just like time could be a construct and space could be shrunk. Ideas like these come from asking tough and open questions about the outliers, and this all feels very pioneering and energized, to me. I enjoyed my reading of After and I would definitely recommend it, though I am positive that there are many who are not ready to give it a fair reading. On the other hand, one of his concluding sentences from his life’s work is that “NDEs can also transform those who read about them and can ultimately, I believe, even help us change the way we see and even treat one another” (p223).

That would be a recommend, if you are openminded or curious.

(For the record, my further questions have to do with NDEs and (various) religion(s) and also the science behind other “extreme conditions” that might indicate a consciousness outside of the brain (like meditation, prayer, visions, drug use, translation, visitations, ghosts, etc.). He does speak to meditation and drugs and maybe something else briefly and comes to the conclusion that the brain is more engaged in these situations, the opposite of NDEs, but I am still very curious about them.)

QUOTES:

“…let’s test those challenging ideas to see whether they are in fact superstitions—or whether they’re windows into a more comprehensive picture of the world” (p11).

“…which allows us to move beyond the artificial divide between science and spirituality” (p11).

“…the essential tentative nature of science. Science by its very nature is always a work in progress” (p20).

“Respecting things that are difficult to measure, rather than dismissing them as unreal, is not rejecting science. It’s embracing science” (p22).

“I experienced it with this unconditional love that is only God’s eyes, or the eyes of Jesus Christ, or the light of Jesus, or the light of Buddha enlightened, the spiritual entity. No judgmental aspect whatever” (p41).

“The information came in, and then love neutralized my judgements against myself” (p42).

“I saw her beauty, her humanity, and her needs that had gone unattended to in her own childhood” (p43).

“’What I say here is limited by the English language, for no words have been invented to tell this story with adequate beauty’” (p48).

“He saw descriptions of streets of gold, pearly gates, and angelic figures as best analogies others could come up with to convey what is essentially an indescribable experience” (p48).

“Finally, we noted that experiencers almost universally become convinced by their NDEs that some part of them will live after death” (p57).

“The plural of anecdote is data” (p61).

“’My perception of my physical boundaries was no longer limited to where my skin met air. I felt like a genie liberated from its bottle’” (p71).

“But what I did find surprising as that, among those who’d come close to death, those who’d had NDEs described less psychological distress than those who hadn’t had NDEs” (p82).

“Finally, NDEs usually lead to an enhanced sense of meaning and purpose in life, increased joy in everday things, decreased fear of death, and a greater sense of the interconnectedness among all people” (p88).

“They must redefine their old model to accommodate things like NDEs, where consciousness continues after the brain has shut down, in order to come up with a more complete description of reality” (p92).

“There is no place in the cerebral cortex where electrical stimulation will cause a patient to believe or to decide” (p117).

“’…I felt like I could “fly” towards a great Light that was God, and a future where I was loved and things made profound sense’” (p122).

“’My understanding of “reality” was turned 180 degrees when I learned that at our deepest level of consciousness we are energy beings of pure love and light who are temporarily residing in physical bodies’” (p148).

“So we can’t always take reports of an afterlife environment at face value, but we do need to take seriously those accounts that are consistent across different cultural beliefs and personal expectations” (p150).

“But almost 90 percent of the experiencers I’ve studied say this in their NDE they encountered at least one other person” (p152).

“…suggests that the images of Kwan Yin and Cernunnos were formed partly in Rachel’s own creative imagination as her personal interpretation of what she was experiencing” (p154).

“…one-third identified the being as an entity consistent with their religious beliefs, while double that number—two-thirds—said they could not identify the godlike being” (p155).

“’I was in IT, of IT, yet still simultaneously my individual unique beingness. I knew myself to be preciously priceless …. I simply, totally knew and loved IT, within and about me, as IT knew and loved me. There was no space, no time, no separation, no duality of anything…’” (p156).

“If we claim to be skeptics, we can’t reject the observations that contradict our worldview and accept those that agree with our views, without looking at the data” (p161).

“The important point seems to be not how experiencers identify or label the divine beings, but how they feel in the presence of the divine” (p161).

“’This lack of fear, I feel, has enhanced a hundredfold my enjoyment of living …. I have been dead. I know the truth. And I am not scared’” (p165).

“’It’s true that I’m no longer afraid of death,’ he said, ‘but I’m also no longer afraid of life ….  I understand now that I’m more than just a collection of molecules. I have a profound connection to everything else in the universe. The problems of this bad of skin are not the important. There’s meaning and purpose to my being back here in this body’” (p167).

“…losing the fear of death often leads to a richer appreciation of life, despite the outward circumstances” (p169).

“NDEs often lead to a paradoxical decrease in devotion to any one religious tradition, despite a greater awareness of guidance by and connection to a higher power” (p178).

“’We all know what it is, and though it can be said in a thousand ways, there is only one word that says it all: Love. And the message is this: “Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another”’” (p185).

“Owning the Cadillac was never the point. It was all about the thrill of driving it for awhile” (p191).

“’There are not words to describe the depth of its visionary beauty. This is a place of total love and a place where ultimate security exists, forever’” (p198).

“There is no inherent conflict between a physical and nonphysical understanding of NDEs” (p210).

“Knowing that NDEs reduce experiencers’ fear of death may make you think differently about your own death. Knowing that the process of dying is usually peaceful—of not blissful—may mean you don’t need to be afraid of dying. It may also make you worry less about loved ones suffering as they die” (p218).

“The evidence that under extreme conditions we can perceive beyond what our physical senses see and hear, and that we can remember things our physical brains have not processed, comes not just from NDEs but from a variety of research avenues. So it makes sense to me to live our lives as if this is really the way things are…” (p221).

SEVEN LESSONS GREYSON LEARNED FROM HIS RESEARCH:

If you don’t want “spoilers,” then don’t read this next little thing.

“…NDEs are common experiences that can happen to anyone.”“…NDEs are normal experiences that happen to people in exceptional circumstances.”“…NDEs lead to a number of profound and long-lasting aftereffects.”“…NDEs reduce fear of death.”…”NDEs lead experiencers to live more fully in the present moment.”“…NDEs raise questions about the relationship between minds and brains.”“…NDEs raise questions about the continuation of consciousness after death.”