Much Ado About Stories
Telling it Slant
Dear Friend and Fellow Maker,
We all love them! We watch them on television. We go see them on the big screen. We read them in books. Libraries are filled with them. Book stores too! We have them on shelves in our homes, and in digital form on our kindles and phones. We listen to them being read to us. And we read them to our children and grandchildren. We love to be caught up in a good story and see it through to the end. Stories enchant us, inspire us, teach us and guide us. We find ourselves in stories that are not our own. And we are shaped and formed by the stories that are living in us.
The stories of our own lives range from sweet and happy stories all the way to excruciatingly painful ones. How do we make sense of them? Especially the difficult stories we have lived through — do we merely shove them aside and hope we don’t ever have to face them again? Do we brush them off with simple platitudes? Do we get stuck inside the destructive fallout of our stories? Is there a way to somehow face and uphold the stories that are part of us, and also search for nuggets of truth and goodness within them to hold onto for the road ahead?
I believe we can. It isn’t easy. Some of our stories need unpacking in the presence of dear friends or even professionals who can help us move through our storied lives with eyes open to what is there for us to glean. And once we have trekked through the debris, how do we then speak of these stories? How do we share them in such a way that does not downplay their significance, but honors what they have given us in wisdom, insight and light for our stories that are yet to unfold? And furthermore, how can we pass on this light to others, to our children and grandchildren for their benefit?
I once told a friend that, for me, thoughtful children’s literature offers me a way to view the hard stories of my life through a more comfortable lens. Instead of being accosted by details and realities of what actually happened in the author’s story, I am able to step into a made-up world, filled with enchanting characters (human and animal) who are dealing with difficult stories unfolding at their feet. From George MacDonald to C.S. Lewis, Margery Williams to Kate DiCamillo, and so so many other incredible storytellers, children’s books have a profound ability to offer hope and light to anyone who may find something of their own story within the pages of their books. From an author’s viewpoint, it is a wonderful way of “telling it slant”, as Emily Dickinson would say.1
My recent book, The Spinning House: Stories to Light the Way, is my own attempt at telling it slant. Though it is not on par with MacDonald or Lewis, it is nevertheless, a way for me to pass down to my kids and grandkids some of what my stories have brought to me. The three stories within the overall storyline of the book, were each given to me following difficult events in my life. As painful as they were to live through, I sincerely desire to honor them as they are a significant part of myself and my family. Planting these stories within a world of mice that live and work behind the walls of a grandmother’s cottage, allows me to speak about what happened, not in harsh details, but in a way that can be heard and absorbed by a child’s heart and mind. To be honest, even my 60 year old self, is still in need of stories that tell it slant, rather than a stark confrontation of horrendous details. In some odd way, telling it slant is more profound as my imagination inserts my own story into the story I’m reading.
This sharing and passing down of our stories is so needed. As I read the stories of others, I receive light and grace for what I am currently going through and for all that may come. That is all I can hope for as I offer my stories out into the world. If you have purchased one already — I heartily thank you! And I’d encourage you, dear reader, to share your stories with others, even if it is just one friend.
With light and gratitude,
Jennifer
Tell all the truth but tell it slant — (1263)
Tell all the truth but tell it slant —
Success in Circuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth’s superb surprise
As Lightning to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind —
Just finished reading your new book. It was wonderful. I especially liked the dream story and finding the basket of colored yarn that gave her purpose and joy. Sometimes our yarn can just be close and that is also comforting 💘 I imagined the book in color. I'll bet that color would have made it so very expensive. You did good!