My yearning for expressing the mysteries of life drives this newsletter.
Yet, there is so much of life that is inexpressible!
Certainly, there are words for this, words for that, ways to describe so many things…
But some things remain mysterious.
My passion for reading is, in part, a passion for discovering the expressions of others that powerfully resonate with my own experiences. Through the writing of others, I often recognize myself.
Today is one of those times when the lines between my two “blogs,” or newsletters, blurs. Usually my book blog shares reading recommendations aligned with the taste of readers of my own book series, Piper Pan and Her Merry Band. I read a lot of books from the “children’s” section of the library. (In quotes because as an adult I appreciate and love these books in ways I couldn’t have as a child!) I’ve found and shared many wonderful authors in the process. But those books rarely find their way to this coaching newsletter.
Author Kate DiCamillo and her book Raymie Nightingale is that rare exception. Kate’s work is nothing if not varied. But I will say that I find across them, a consistent willingness to allow mystery and to portray expansiveness beyond the literal, visible world. It isn’t that she takes on mystical topics—not at all. It’s that within her stories of everyday happenings, the ineffable shows up.
DiCamillo’s story Raymie Nightingale is literally about three girls and their friendship. Raymie Clarke is at the center. Her father has left with the dental hygienist, and she has a plan to get him to come back: she will win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition, get her picture in the paper, and her father will be proud of her and return.
Of course nothing is simple, nothing goes as planned.
But in the process of dealing with the awful, weird things that happen, wonderful, mysterious things appear, like feeling one’s soul expand, and gaining friends.
Honestly, I can’t really find words for this book—and that’s the point. Reading it gave me a satisfying inner experience, something big enough to hold life’s mystery, and all those feelings one can never really find words for.
Thank God for authors like Kate DiCamillo, expressing the mysteries of life!
Coach’s Challenge:
Put Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo on hold this week at your library and read it as soon as possible. Read it from the perspective of the adult you are, on your own mysterious journey. See what resonance you find with all those inexpressible spaces inside you. I guarantee you’ll come away knowing yourself just a little better—as well as being entertained by Raymie Nightingale and her friends. Leave me a comment, if you wish, about expressing the mysteries of life!
P.S. If you are interested in reading my blag about another wonderful Kate DiCamillo book: “The Magician’s Elephant, click here.