I Dreamed A Dream
By Allison Winn Scotch | July 8, 2010 |
So my new book, The One That I Want, has been out in the world for a month now, and just like a new parent who has realized that it’s time to take a night or two away from her little one, I’ve started to move on from the hovering, the worrying, the frantic roller-coaster of emotions that inevitably come with a book release. And then, this weekend, I got an email from a reader that really and truly gave me perspective on this process – which is NOT an easy thing to have. In fact, it’s easier, in many ways, to think that you may very well live and die by the success of your book until you realize just how ridiculous that sounds because, of course, life will move on whether or not you sell thousands upon thousands of copies or if people give you 1-star or 5-star reviews.
But on to this email. The underlying message of The One is one of hope, of possibility, of reaching for something even when you think that it might be too late to reach for it, and thus, when a 52-year old woman wrote me on Sunday that upon finishing the book, she decided to renew her vow to enroll in college and seek out her dream of landing a degree (she’s starting this fall!), I was beyond moved. Over the years, as many writers I’m sure do, I’ve gotten a lot of emails along these lines: people who have been touched by cancer who found a bit of solace in my debut novel; women who reassessed their marriages after reading Time of My Life, but you always kind of forget. You always forget that you’re putting out words into the world and that the power behind these words can be, well, life-changing.
This isn’t a horn toot. This isn’t me patting myself on the back and saying, “Bravo, Allison, you’re such a compelling writer that you got someone to go back to college and empower herself!” In fact, it’s almost the opposite. That there are SO MANY things that we, as writers, are told to worry about, that you forget, in the whirlwind of this process, just how meaningful books and stories can be. That I’m certain that nearly every novelist I know has in some way shaped or changed someone else’s life.
So I got this email, and it was like everything else fell away. I’d already mentally prepared myself to move on from this book, to finish up my next one and get lost in those characters and their voices, and yes, all the stress and minutia that will come with publishing another book. But I read this woman’s story, and I very much admired her bravery, and I thought, “Well, of course that’s what this is about.” It’s not about print run or bestseller lists or how large your advance is (though, let’s be honest, on some days, it has to be). It’s about how books change lives, how they move a reader to reconsider their choices, and in our best moments, maybe inspire someone to take a different path if a different path is called for.
This woman wrote me a note to tell me how much I affected her, but the truth is, that she gave me much needed perspective too. How grateful am I for that in return?
I’d love to hear from you guys: have you had a book that’s changed your life? Or stopped and made you think?
Photo courtesy Flickr’s MacJewell
Allison Winn Scotch is the bestselling author of six novels, including IN TWENTY YEARS, THE THEORY OF OPPOSITES, and TIME OF MY LIFE. Her seventh novel, BETWEEN ME AND YOU, will be released on January 9th, 2018. In addition to fiction, she pens celebrity profiles for a variety of magazines, which justifies her pop culture obsession and occasionally lends to awesome Facebook status updates. She lives in Los Angeles with her family. For more about her and her books, go to allisonwinn.com or follow her on Twitter at @aswinn.
Wow, Allison, that’s just an incredible email to get! I still haven’t read The One That I Want, but now I really want to! I just finished reading Little Bee, and I can’t say much about it because the way the story unfolds is just so beautiful, but it made me realize how much other people matter, even strangers, and that we have to keep our eyes open as much as possible to ways we can help each other. The little things really do matter!
This was beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing.
Fantastic post! It always helps to remember that we, as writers, serve our readers in so many ways. A little perspective and a dollop of humility will go a long way in lengthening a career.
Absolutely wonderful post and reminder of what this is all about. It is true that it is so so easy to get mired in the numbers, in the stress, in the worry, but it is these notes, these stories, that snap us out of it and train our focus on what really matters. Thanks for this, Allison.
I love when that happens – books are so powerful.
It must be so rewarding as you, the author, to have such an impact on someone’s life.
I love Three Wishes by Aussie Liane Moriarty.
I was having surgery a few years ago and in the pre-op room, alone, I started to freak out.
I knew I had to calm down, so I closed my eyes and started to read to myself from the book. I’ve read it that many times I know it off the top of my head!
Books are truly magical.
“This woman wrote me a note to tell me how much I affected her, but the truth is, that she gave me much needed perspective too.”
Precisely. As Mastercard would say, that’s priceless.
I don’t know if this book changed my life, but I recently read DIVINE SECRETS OF THE YA-YA SISTERHOOD, and it definitely gave me a lot to think about. I would say Amy Tan’s books (particularly BONESETTER’S DAUGHTER and JOY LUCK CLUB) really resonated with me when I was younger too.
Great post, Allison! I hope I’m able to keep this in mind when I’m caught up in book launch craziness.
Just beautiful. Thanks for sharing. A great reminder for us all on what truly matters
What a touching experience. Thank you so much for sharing that with us!
The best books are the ones that make you think. I have felt changed (in some way or another) after reading many great novels–TOML and LAST WILL included–but if I had to point to just one off the top of my head that had the *most* impact on me, it would be KINDRED by Octavia Butler.
What a wonderful e-mail, Allison. In the end, I think that’s what all writers want: to touch our readers, to make people think and to change their lives for the better. Book sales can’t compete with knowing you’ve improved peoples’ worlds. (I’m just guessing that, of course–hoping to be able to judge for myself someday. LOL. And of course, I’d also guess that it’s not bad to have both.) Congratulations.
I’m having trouble coming up with a specific title or two that stopped and made me think, because that’s part of my measure of a good book: if I close the cover and instantly forget about it, then it just wasn’t that good. For me, good writing lingers, spends some time in my brain and affects what it finds there, mixes with my other thoughts and challenges my assumptions. It’s an integral part of the joy of reading for me, and lots of books have qualified over the years.
Thanks for sharing this with us. It’s a great reminder in a frenzied world.
What I love about this post is the ripple effect: You wrote a story that impacted her; she took the time to share, rather than remaining silent, but meaningfully changed; now you pass on her message. It’s a cosmic story of transformation, and it all begins with butt in chair.
As for books that have impacted me, I don’t know where to begin. “The Hunger Games” made me resolve to avoid voyeurism and gossip – not such an easy feat in this society of ours.
Allison, THE ONE THAT I WANT is having a huge effect on me. The end of a marriage and a clearer perspective on how to move forward and put the past in the past couldn’t be more relevant for me right now. Some of the lines are particularly meaningful, like “I might have felt broken, but at the end of it all, I didn’t allow myself to break.” Um, yeah, that. For those words and for your ferocious talent, I thank you from the bottom of my healing heart.
I think as writers we all want to make an impact but I can see how a published author can have the blinders on, equating success to the number of books sold. However, I think we all hope that our words impact others deep enough to leave a permanent impression. How wonderful that you have made that impact on someone. Thanks for sharing!
Fitzgerald said ‘You don’t write because you want to say something, you write because you’ve got something to say.’ That is why you sometimes are blessed with this kind of feedback. The One That I Want was a wonderful, poignant story. I highly recommend. t
Thanks so much, everyone, for weighing in! I’m really glad that I had a chance to share her/my story.
Debra – thank you! Touched that I was able to help you through this difficult time. Hugs. :)
This post hits on something I’ve been thinking about. People can get so overwhelmed with the idea of getting published and then when they get published, they go crazy about sales, promotion etc.
I have to remind myself that most of the world don’t think about book deals and could care less about them. They’re just trying to feed themselves, find and keep shelter and in some countries, avoid getting raped on their way to get fresh water from the lake.
We all have to keep everything in the right perspective and remember what is truly important in life.
Thoughtful and genuine. Two things I value.
How completely fulfilling to hear, Allison. The human connection, that voice in the crowd that nurtures and pushes us onward…you are her spark! I’ve read The Art of Racing in the Rain and Little Bee most recently. So incredibly human and inspirational…one told from the POV of the dog about to be reincarnated and the other in the voice of an African female. Two different experiences, but so linked in their compassion and spirit!
Hi Allison,
I loved hearing about this experience for you. One book I read recently that had a huge impact on me was John Banville’s “The Sea.” Not much plot in it, but the way he describes the protagonist’s inextricable link to the sea really mirrored the way I feel about Lake Superior, where I grew up. The prose is amazing (it won the Booker, I believe.) One of the best I’ve read in a long time.
I recently went to a music concert that changed me. Something in the rawness of the songs, the clarity of the ideas, the inspiration just coursed into my veins like drugs. I drove home as quickly as I could and started writing my best work ever. It is wonderful to inspire and be inspired, and it comes in the form of a book, a song or a person. It makes the pain of living your muse all worthwhile.
What a touching and wonderful tribute to you and your book, and how nice that your reader took the time to share that with you.
Thanks for such a great reminder of what REALLY matters in writing books, that one to one communication with another person. It’s so personal, so intimate, so very real.
One of the books that really got to me was Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast. I only read it a few years ago and it really pierced me.
The other? Green Darkness, a historical novel by Anya Seton, published in the 70s. It was old by the time I read it, but that book singlehandedly turned me into a writer. I wanted to give others what she’d given me.
This woman wrote me a note to tell me how much I affected her, but the truth is, that she gave me much needed perspective too. How grateful am I for that in return?
I love these stories, and this really is what it’s all about. Who cares about negative reviews when you changed a life for the better. How cool is that? Bravo.