Beginning ~ with grandmother sharing

Beginning

"We were young when our grandmother, Madeleine L'Engle, started sharing with us the patchwork of events, relationships, and emotions that shaped her into the person she was always becoming.  She described her childhood as solitary, and we thought it must have been lonely — after all, even we, who had each other, had periods of loneliness."

Becoming Madeleine: A Biography of the Author of A Wrinkle in Time by Her Granddaughters ~ by Charlotte Jones Voiklis and Léna Roy, 2018, YA biography, 176 pages

For this insightful biography of Madeleine L’Engle (1918–2007), her granddaughters used never-before-seen archival materials that include photographs, poems, letters, and journal entries from when Madeleine was a child until just after the publication of her classic, A Wrinkle in Time*.  They weave together an in-depth and unique view of the famous writer.  It is a story of overcoming obstacles ― a lonely childhood, financial insecurity, and countless rejections of her writing ― and eventual triumph.  This book will speak not only to fans of Madeleine L'Engle's work, but also to anyone interested in writing.

I look forward to reading this book, because L'Engle has long been one of my favorite writers and also because I got to meet her* and actually shake hands with her after she spoke decades ago at the University of the South in Sewanee.  When she died*, I wrote about it on this blog, including these words:

Although L'Engle was often labeled a children's author, she disliked that classification.  In a 1993 Associated Press interview, she said she did not write down to children.  "In my dreams, I never have an age," she said.  "I never write for any age group in mind. ... When you underestimate your audience, you're cutting yourself off from your best work."

* Click the blue links to read what I wrote about her.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

  Book Beginnings on Fridays.