Which celebrity, living or not, do you wish would invite you to a coffee shop?
Author L.M. Montgomery, of Anne of Green Gables fame. I’ve read all of her books several times over, including the journals she kept from fourteen until the time of her death. In fact, I’ve committed to revisiting Maud’s journals every ten years. So far, I’ve read all five volumes twice.
Though I have a feeling Maud wouldn’t approve of me (she was not fond of free verse), she has always felt like a kindred spirit. Like me, she was a teacher, a Presbyterian pastor’s wife, a mother to two boys, and an author. I’d like to think we’d have a lot to talk about!
Later this year my best friend and I are heading to Maud’s home, Prince Edward Island — a trip six years in the making and dream come true.
Which book do you find yourself recommending passionately?
I adore Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth. I’ve probably read it thirty times, first as a student, then as a student teacher, then with my students, and finally with my own children. It’s witty, it’s clever, it’s fun, and oh so quotable. It’s also great for teaching elements of story. There’s a reluctant hero on a classic quest, and even the climax takes place at the highest physical point in the story—the Castle in the Air.
Most cherished childhood memory?
I’m going to change this one slightly to my most starry-eyed literary childhood memory. My family hosted a Spanish exchange student named Paula when I was in fourth grade. Since then, Paula’s family and my family have continued to remain close. The Maciciors own a home that is hundreds of years old, a grand thirty-four room structure in the Spanish countryside, near the city of Pamplona. In the 1920s Ernest Hemingway rented a room there while working on The Sun Also Rises.
I visited this house as a pre-teen and a teen. Though I hadn’t yet read anything by Hemingway, I knew his name and was thrilled to learn I’d get to stay in the room where a real-live author had temporarily lived. There are two beds in the room, and you better believe I slept in both, to cover my claim-to-fame bases.
Brother and sisters or an only child? How did that shape your life?
I have a half sister and half brother who are ten and twelve years older than I am. I often describe myself as a semi-only child, as much of my childhood was spent as the only kid at home. This taught me to entertain myself, certainly, and meant I had plenty of time for reading and imagining and just making do.
Best tip for living a contented life?
This is one I’m still learning (and probably will be till I die). But so far I’ve learned contentment comes from gratitude, from realizing how many simple, wonderful, often-overlooked gifts we experience everyday. Like breathing. Have you ever considered how amazing it is that there’s air to fill your lungs every single moment? Contentment comes from loving and being loved. And it comes from acknowledging what you can control and letting go of what you can’t. Easier said than done, I know.
Prince Edward Island is on my bucket list too — and I also felt I was a kindred spirit with Anne and Maud.
I’ll give Anne and Maud a wave on your behalf, Carole!
The Phantom Tollbooth is one of those titles that has stuck with me my whole life as well, though I haven’t read it nearly as many times as you! And what a great story to tell about having slept in Hemingway’s bed!
Isn’t The Phantom Tollbooth a fantastic book? And it was pretty fun when I finally read The Sun Also Rises to feel a personal connection to the story.