For the Child Who Feels Everything: Sensitivity, PEI, and The Mysterious Magic of Lighthouse Lane

 

Were you a child who felt everything deeply? Or do you have one of those children in your family now? I was—and still am. As a child, hearing bad news often felt like it were happening to me. And I have a son the same way. We walked out of many cartoons near the climactic point. It was just too much.  

At first, I was excited about Erin Stewart’s The Mysterious Magic of Lighthouse Lane because of the setting—Prince Edward Island—one of my favorite places to read about. But I ended up falling in love with Lucy, who reminded me a lot of my younger self.

If you love Prince Edward Island, gentle mysteries, and stories about children learning to live with big feelings, this is a lovely choice.

 

MMGM: The Boy Who Built Boxen: A Review of Giant

 

Do you have a C.S. Lewis fan at your house—or are you, or an older teen, reading Surprised by Joy? If you’d like to learn more about Lewis’s early life and his time in Belfast, Giant by Judith McQuoid is a lovely introduction.

Told through the eyes of fictional Davy, a boy based on Lewis’s longest friendship, this gentle historical novel imagines the early years of “Jacks,” the young C.S. Lewis.

As I read, I kept thinking about the parts of Surprised by Joy where Lewis describes making Boxen with his brother and his especially close relationship with Warnie. Narnia was one of the first novel-length series I read as a child, so I loved learning more about the childhood seeds that may have grown into those beloved stories.

If you enjoy discovering the inspirations behind your favorite authors, I think you will enjoy this one.

 

ISWG: Bends in the Road: What My Writing Life Has Taught Me

A winding path at the Oregon Zoo

 

I don’t like to think about regrets. Looking back on the over twenty years I’ve spent as a parent (my oldest turned twenty-four last week) and the time I’ve spent writing, I can think of many things I would’ve done differently with what I know now. But how would I have that knowledge if I hadn’t failed, and in a big way sometimes?

So, yes, I am an imperfect parent. My writing journey has often been a winding path instead of a straight road. Most of what I know is from doing things wrong.