Tag: Matt Haig

Conversation on November 14, 2021

What does it mean to BE who we are in this lifetime? In this conversation, Pat talks about the book, “The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig. In this book, the protagonist, discovers a library where “every book provides a chance to try another life” (see citation). Per Pat’s synopsis, we learn that oftentimes the protagonist finds herself disappointed and at other times satisfied with the lives she has “jumped in and out of” when visiting the different “books” in the library. Pat states, “We all have parts of our lives that we can look at as being different lives … and as we grow and learn and move on to the next section of our life, it’s like having a new life.” Pat then creates a “throughline” to another artist/writer named Maria Popova, who has a website titled, “The Marginalian.” Pat describes Maria’s process of connecting certain artists’ literary works to others’ works. Like a “trail of breadcrumbs”, Maria connects us, as readers, to thematic understandings that draw us to making deeper conclusions about ourselves through art, poetry, writing, and other forms of expression. From Maria’s work, Pat extends the “throughline” to Corita Kent, an artist, educator, and advocate for social justice. Like Popova, Kent connects ‘pieces’ together to create art assemblages, making meaning from seemingly unrelated materials or objects. Finally, the message is this: that we create who we are and become who we are from the amazing parts of our lives that shape and form our soul-driven identities.