Matt Casey
February 5, 2020
Has there been a moment or a dialogue within fiction, even your own work, that has helped you in difficult times?
Borgel and Yobgorgle are two of the most influential books of my childhood, teen years, and adult life. It made me happy to have found your site and realize simply that I am able to tell you this.
In the middle of Borgel (I believe just after meeting the fake great popsicle, but my book was lost in a recent move), there is one part where Melvin starts to feel a bit overwhelmed by the whole ordeal, and Borgel tells him that they can go home at any time, in just a few minutes. Almost unexpectedly relieved by this, Melvin is emboldened to continue the adventure.
Through years of moving, change, new uncomfortable experiences, the idea of ‘let’s keep exploring, you can turn back if you need to’ has helped me immensely.
Has there been a moment or a dialogue within fiction, even your own work, that has helped you in difficult times?
Daniel replies:
I'd need to think about this. I can't remember any moment or dialogue in fiction that has helped me...though I'm sure there have been many. I can't even remember any difficult times, not that there haven't been some, but for a long time I've been able to look at them as occasions to learn something. Here's an example: I remember making a mistake in training a horse, (I did not pay proper attention and show proper respect), so the horse pushed me down and stood on my leg, which was singular, and I remember thinking, "So, now I know what it feels like when a horse stands on your leg." When the horse let me get up, I did not apologize so much as slug her as hard as I could. The horse apparently thought that was ok, and we both understood I would have better manners dealing with her in the future. Being stood on by a horse could be regarded as a difficulty, but it was a lesson, and the start of a wonderful inter-species friendship. (My leg wasn't broken or anything, just stood upon.)
