Nana and the Generational Passion

I realize now just how little I know about my grandmother's story. No one in my family really knows her the way I wish I did. I wish I was old enough when she was around to ask her the real questions about who she was, what she thought, what she believed about things. I hear my grandfather's side all the time... how enamored he was of her, what she was good at...my mom and aunts have recollections of things she liked to do. I dunno, I just feel like there's more to her than I'll ever know.

She was never educated beyond very basic early education. She never got a driver's license. My mom, being the oldest child and remembering more of the early years of her mother's marriage than the rest, says she believes Nana had to make a lot of tough decisions and sacrifices in order to provide for 4 children... meaning her happiness rarely was a priority and she compromised more than she wishes she had to. I believe she was a fiesty woman, very intelligent, who knew how to get what she wanted/needed. She was relationally savvy. Strong.

One thing I do know beyond a shadow of a doubt is that my grandmother was a reader. She would stay up all night long to read my mother's college textbooks when she would come home from the dorms. Her bedroom was lined with books about all kinds of topics. She protested to get a bookmobile to start coming around the neighborhoods since she couldn't drive to the library and she would stock up on boxes of books at a time. She passed that love of reading onto my mother, who downright hoards books! And she passed it onto me. When I lived with her for a year in first grade, she would read with me every night. She even got me to read a book from the 5th grade reading list... it took me months! But she had me write a letter to the author when I was done! I even have the letter he wrote me back, congratulating me. Ha. Thinking about it, I have always had packed bookshelves my entire life and that makes me pretty weird.... I cannot recall more than 2 other friends who even bothered to read outside of school. Now I MUST read before bed, it's become a ritual of sorts.

There are certain books I devour over and over again. They usually have something to do with faith or art. I live in them. I've experienced them. Their underlined, high-lighted, dog-eared pages take me back to a moment in my life and evoke feelings in me intimate and powerful. Here are just a few, perhaps you'll find them meaningful, too.

Harold and the Purple Crayon - One of the earliest books I remember reading. I think this book actually started my love of the arts, too. It's about a boy who draws the world the way he wants it, creates very unique adventures for himself, and ends up back in the comfort of his own home.

Anything by Roald Dahl- I'm not sure how I got onto him. My Nana also had this unexplainable love for all things British and I guess that's how I discovered this unusual children's author. I collected all his books and wrote a review of Matilda in the Fredericksburg newspaper when there was talk of censoring his books.

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging - Another Brit book! This is the first in a series about a preteen named Georgia Nicolson and it got me through those dreaded middle school years and made me laugh so hard I cried! It also created a whole new vocabulary for me.

Blue Like Jazz - Oh, Donald Miller, how do I love thee? I resisted this book like crazy in college because Campus Crusade for Christ was passing them out to freshmen new to campus so I assumed it must be some kind of Christian fluff lit. When I finally cracked open the cover, I couldn't BELIEVE how much I related to the thoughts and feelings of this seeking disciple. And the way he tells his unusual stories is just beautiful.

Anything by David Sedaris - Probably the complete opposite of Donald Miller! Homosexual, irreverent, and not a little flat out bizarre, this authors short stories shock me into laughter and turn the most mundane of everyday moments into downright riots! Not everyone can appreciate his views of the world or get his humor but I can like him anyway. :P

The Irresistible Revolution - Shane's books should be mandatory reads for every believer. He's honest and grounded and challenges readers to really live out their love for Jesus. It changed my life.

A Whole New Mind - I had to read this for an Art Ed class in grad school and I am so glad I did! It's so interesting and really well written. It talks about how important creative people are/will be in the work force of the future as technology makes things ever more efficient and worker bees aren't needed as much as brilliant innovators are. And I love the examples Daniel Pink uses, like how storytelling is becoming more important in the field of medicine because doctors need to be able to really hear what patients are telling them and put the pieces together, rather than just relying on a list of symptoms to diagnose illnesses. Makes you think....

An Illustrated Life - This is essentially a peek into the sketchbooks of a multitude of different kinds of artists. It feels like I'm getting away with something by even looking. :P Danny Gregory put this together and, like The Creative License (thank you Heather!) or any of his other books, it inspires me to slow down, really study the world around me, and feel free to capture it on paper the best I can. It got me drawing again. It reminded me of how beautiful this world really is and got me to worship in an entirely different way.

The Same Kind of Different As Me - This book is written by two people, going back and forth, telling their stories, and, eventually, their stories intertwine. It made me look at homelessness in a new way and challenged me to see beyond the surface of people, to love them better and learn from them. Sad and powerful. And it showed me what a difference one lil Christian can make.

Oh my goodness... there are so many more! What books impacted you?