I’m reading Where’d You Go Bernadette, which is a book club choice and not one I would normally choose for myself because it seems like one of those fluffy over-rated books that get turned into movies. Well, I love it. Shocking! I love it because Bernadette is a little crazy (just like me) and she is a creator (just like me).
One line spoke to me so vividly. It was after a deep confession the main character Bernadette writes to an old friend. It relays her deepest anxieties and why she chose to stop designing (she is a well-known architect in the book). Her letter to him is pages and pages of rambling and he writes back only a few sentences with this point: People like you must create. If you don’t create, Bernadette, you will become a menace to society.
I saw the author when I read this line and felt her words slap me in the face (in a good way). Maria Semple, thank you. Your silly crazy fun story had something so fun and meaningful it made my heart burst. She tunneled a feeling into one of her characters and I love that she did this. Okay, I’m totally assuming here, it’s not like Semple and I are friends. But, just in case. Maria, dear, if you’re reading this and need a best friend, call me.
Creators must create. If we don’t allow ourselves time to invent than things without our knowledge or within our control feel the brunt of unused energy. Creating is healing, it’s an outlet, a way to exhale and inhale at the same time. It’s freedom. We must create or we will destroy everything around us. Maybe that’s extreme but you follow me.
I’m not finished with the book yet, expect a full book review when I’m done. Then I will watch the movie because I’m that girl that has to complete the circle.
Melisa Peterson Lewis 