Reply To: Still Life: Did you read the acknowledgements?
Yes, I read the acknowledgement; I usually do in any book I read, if I can. I find it may give me further insight into the author’s thought processes which may or may not enhance my appreciation for what they were trying to accomplish in their story. It sometimes gives clues as to what is important to them, and what motivated them, and also, as Tara mentioned, may also pique my curiosity about something I might want to further investigate about the story. I like seeing a glimpse of who the author is, as well; who they choose to thank, and why. LP often goes even further in her explanations about such things, and it’s made me like and admire her even more as a person. In the case of this book’s acknowledgement, It didn’t change my perspective about what I thought about the book, but it made me appreciate the intensity of the labor that had gone into it; the very human struggle to get this thing accomplished, the appreciation of those who helped along the way, and the acknowledgement that help and the support of others was needed to get this done. And her very human reveal that her life had not always been successful and rosy made her all the more relatable; she was a normal human being who struggled, just like most of us. And yet, look what she had accomplished! It gave me an affirmation that a person’s hopes and dreams may sometimes come true, if they don’t give up. I found it inspirational.
Thus, I have become a total fan of LP. There’s something about her writing and her decency that is very appealing to me, and I try to support it in any way that I can. I do follow her on FB (she’s the reason I started participating on FB at all, really– I was looking to find out more about her books, and that opened me up to social media, for better or for worse), and I subscribe to her newsletter, and last year, I was able to both visit Knowlton, QC and see LP in Lancaster, PA on her book tour. I’ve never done that for any other author, but the opportunity arose and I grabbed at it. I discovered her books at a time when I needed some peace of mind, and that has made them special for me; last year was the first time in years that I had been able to get away from home responsibilities and actually go somewhere, and it just seemed like perfect karma that these opportunities arose!
