"Stories of My Life" (Katherine Paterson)

TITLE: Stories of My Life
AUTHOR: Katherine Paterson
PUBLISHER: Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2022, (352 pages).
 

We all love stories. Since young, many of us would recall listening to how our parents and grandparents told us all kinds of stories. From fairy tales to modern legends, biblical narratives to personal testimonies, stories captivate us in ways that no prose nor non-fiction could. Stories help us appreciate and understand tradition. They also teach us lessons about life, just like the world-famous Aesop's Fables. It takes a conscientious storyteller to tell a good story. It takes a gifted storyteller to tell a great story. Author Katherine Paterson tells her own story to give us many glimpses into her fascinating life as a writer, a missionary kid, teacher, preacher's wife, devoted mother, and a Christian. She shares about the ups and downs of her life. Events like her topsy-turvy days when living with her missionary parents to China to having children of her own following a miscarriage, Paterson shares her stories with vivid description and brutal honesty. She introduces the book from a readers' perspective via three "Frequently Asked Questions." 

1. How did you become a writer?
2. Where do you get your ideas?
3. How does it feel to be famous?

In a humble fashion, she puts us all at ease that she is basically as ordinary as anyone of us could be. Like many of us seeking to be authors, she faces rejections from publishers, envies other writers who seem to have all kinds of ideas to write on, and the way fame in a strange way isolates people. Paterson has been through these and more. Each chapter begins with a personal photograph from her archives followed by a title to prepare readers for what is ahead. Then she tells her stories with ease. It is easy for readers to come alongside and walk with her thoughts, and appreciating how human this amazing storyteller is. 

My Thoughts
My first thought is that this book is part-memoir, part-autobiography. Though the author refuses to say it is memoir, I think there is a memoir-like structure in this book. She settles with a longer "Stories of My Life" to show us that maybe, there should be a third category between memoir and autobiography. After all, it takes a sizable memory collection to make it into a proper memoir. At the same time, an autobiography might require a lengthier treatment. I can understand why Paterson chooses to do neither, as she is more comfortable just telling stories as they come. This is her strength and she chooses to utilize that to make this book an enjoyable and personable read.

Secondly, this book is inspiring for anyone trying to write memoirs even without detailed information available. It takes a lot of recollection, interviews, and journaling in order to come up with an accurate list of events. For many of us, the best we could do is to have a snapshot of different moments of our lives. I find myself inspired to do the same. The older one gets, the further the memories. Yet, the best time to start any personal stories is right now. Instead of waiting until the perfect recollection appears, starting whenever we are inspired should spur us to pen down things before they are forgotten. Thankfully, books like this assure us that we do not need perfect memories. Just tell it as it is for now.

For budding writers, there is none more personal than authentic autobiographies. Not only must one be true to the audience, most importantly, truthful to self. In writing a book for the public, Paterson shows us how our personal stories could inspire others to do the same. Thanks to this book, I am inspired.

Katherine Paterson is the beloved author of many books for young readers, including Bridge to Terabithia, The Great Gilly Hopkins, Jacob Have I Loved, The Master Puppeteer, and the Christmas books A Stubborn Sweetness and Other Stories for the Christmas Season and The Night of His Birth. She has been honored with nearly every major award for children's literature, including the Newbery Medal, a Newbery Honor, the National Book Award, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, and more than one hundred other awards and honors. She was named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress in 2000 and served as the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature in 2010-2011. Paterson lives in Vermont. 

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Westminster John Knox Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.