Fictional Friends

I took Louise Dickinson Rich's We Took to the Woods out to The Cottage and read it one chapter at a time. It was my break book. Her essays weren't really chronological so I could pick it up and put it down at will...then pick it back up again.

I started to feel as if I was sharing my breaks with Louise. She lived in the backwoods of Maine with her family and a lovely cast of characters as neighbors. These were country "neighbors" which means they weren't city-close. I loved that she loved the quiet in the woods as much as I do. I got her.  She felt like a friend.

She's not my first fictional friend.  I've had so many. I never understood how anyone could be lonely or bored. There was always a new book to read...a new friend to meet.

I knew I'd finish yesterday. And the last essay was lovely. Then there was an afterward. The author told me that Louise's husband died suddenly and things got hard for her until she died.

Now I knew realistically that she was dead. She was born in 1903 I think. But I wanted to close that book on her out in the middle of nowhere totally content with the life life she'd found in the backcountry of Maine.

I know, I know...I do love a good happily ever after, but life isn't like that. And yet, when I got home from camp I realized books can be just that. So I bought another Louise book, Happy the Land. And Alice Arlen, who wrote the afterward, referenced the bio she wrote about Louise, She Took to the Woods, and mentioned a lot of Louise's essays were in it...so I bought that too! I'm planning to take both books out to The Cottage and go back to my lunch dates with Louise and we're going to invite Alice to join us on occasion.

Louise talked about never being lonely, even though they lived in the middle of nowhere. I get that. I love the solitude at camp. And I learned early in life that as long as there were books to be read, I'd never be lonely.

I'm looking forward to catching up with Louise and meeting Alice at camp!

Holly


PS If you're looking for a fictional friend of your own, October was Salespalooza month for my books. Quincy and her PTA Mom pals might be the friends you're looking for. Check them out:

Steamed, Maid in LA Book 1: https://amzn.to/2olr0Af

Dusted, Maid in LA Book 2: https://amzn.to/2AVmniR
Spruced Up, Maid in LA Book 3: https://amzn.to/2MozA9i
Swept Up, Maid in LA Book 4: https://amzn.to/2LRuPWT
Polished Off, Maid in LA Book 5: https://amzn.to/2OtOptY
Once Upon a Thanksgiving, PTA Book 1: https://amzn.to/35fit2k
Once Upon a Christmas, PTA Book 2: https://amzn.to/2LS7TH4
Once Upon a Valentine's PTA Book 3: https://amzn.to/2nowNEF