SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About TLT
  • Reviews
    • Book Reviews
    • A to Z Book Lists
    • Book Review Policy
  • Teen Issues
  • Middle Grade Mondays
  • Programs
    • TPiB
    • Tech Talk
  • Professional
    • Teen Services 101
    • Things We Didn’t Learn in Library School
  • MakerSpace
  • Projects
    • #SVYALit
    • #FSYALit
    • #MHYALit
    • #Poverty in YA Lit

April 27, 2020 by Robin Willis

We’re Not Alone, not Even in the Middle of a Quarantine – a guest post by author Kim Oclon

April 27, 2020 by Robin Willis   Leave a Comment

“We read to know we’re not alone.” C.S. Lewis

At the start of every school year, each department was given a shirt. One year the English department shirt had all of our names on the back and a quote on the front, “We read to know we’re not alone.” Thank you, C.S. Lewis, for that wonderful reminder. We are not alone when we read. But, I’d like to expand that to say, “We read, we watch movies, we listen to music to know we’re not alone.”

If I made a list of every book, song, or film that encapsulates this quote, we’d be here for a while and I might run out of room on my hard drive, so I’d like to focus on two movies that immediately came to mind when I decided to explore this quote in terms of myself, my work, and our current state.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

For me, it isn’t necessarily about having the exact same experience has one of the characters, but having the same emotions and having a place to let those emotions out. I love watching sad movies. My husband doesn’t get it. I don’t know if I completely get it. But give me a movie that lets me feel some big feelings and I will definitely watch it. Does anyone remember the 2001 film, Life as a House? I saw this one with my mom at a second-run theater as my college career was coming to an end. In a few weeks I would move to Los Angeles after graduating with a degree in screenwriting. I needed a movie that would let me get out all that end-of-college-what-am-I doing-am-I-doing-the-right thing-anxiety. And did it deliver! It might not have been the best movie, but I did cry for a good portion of the second half of the film with all the confusion and uncertainty running down my face and into a balled up tissue.

What about the 2002 film, Moonlight Mile? I saw that one when I was struggling to find a job after being in Los Angeles for several months, feeling alone and helpless. I remember being an absolute mess in the middle of the Arclight Theater on Sunset Boulevard. I’m not a man living in the 1970’s struggling with my fiancé’s murder and I’m not a teenage boy mending my relationship with my sick dad. But, when I watched these movies, I was less alone.

This quote must have been in my subconscious as I wrote my debut novel, Man Up. It is a about, David, a baseball player with a secret boyfriend. After coming out, he learns about allies roaming the halls in his school and how not only is he in need of support and acceptance but so many are in search of it too. There are teachers, other students he never gave a second glance to, and even a teammate. A subplot that unintentionally fell into this theme involves David’s dad, a carpenter who has been unemployed for a few years. Unemployment eats at him for much of the novel. His inability to find steady employment affects the whole family and it is something he dealt with on his own for a couple years.

David’s dad is not alone. David is not alone. And we’re not alone.

But right now, we are alone to some extent. Physically, but hopefully not emotionally. We are uncertain. We are confused. We are frustrated. We are sad. We are mad. In attempt to reassure my seven-year-old daughter, we talk about how not only are our friends and family feeling the same way we are, but much of the world is too.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

To say I was disappointed that my launch events were rescheduled (for June…we’ll see!) would be a gross understatement. But I know I’m not alone. Other authors had their launches ruined. My friend decided to count, and she has canceled 23 events (so far) for a book that was released in February. In these times, social media has been a place to find solidarity and support. I’ve had friends, acquaintances, and friends of friends volunteer to help me strategize so this time that was supposed to be exciting and celebratory still feels like a celebration. I’m definitely not alone. If anything, my circle has grown.

I don’t think I need to watch Contagion right now or read a book set in the near-distant future that has some sort of commentary where a disease/robot/super villain threatens mankind. But I do need something that will help me find a place for all this stuff I’m feeling. I’ve been watching sitcoms before bed lately. They provide little bursts of humor that help me decompress from the day so I can get ready for the next one.

Little bursts of humor…maybe that is an accurate reflection of the current circumstances. Perhaps I need to engage with something where I see other people in unbelievable situations where things seem dire and ridiculous until some comic relief breaks the tension. Maybe it’s not the time for the sad things I usually turn to. Regardless where I find camaraderie: a sad movie, a silly show, a snarky teenager in a novel, or a song that encourages me to be better, I am not the only one searching. C.S. Lewis may have given us quote but countless artists prove everyday just how true it is.

With a background in screenwriting and fiction writing, Kim Oclon taught high school for seven years and co-founded the school’s GSA. Her first literary favorites included The Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley Twins series but she now considers The Things They Carried  to be her favorite book. Man Up is her first novel.

You can purchase Man Up from Indie Bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780999388631

Filed under: Uncategorized

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Robin Willis

After working in middle school libraries for over 20 years, Robin Willis now works in a public library system in Maryland.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

December 2022

Book Mail: Romances, thrillers, mysteries, dystopias, and more!

by Robin Willis

December 2022

The Difference Between YA and NA, a former teen now new adult reader perspective

by Robin Willis

December 2022

Post-It Note Reviews: Quick looks at 9 new titles

by Robin Willis

October 2022

Reclaiming Queer History, a guest post by James Brandon

by Robin Willis

October 2022

I Wrote a Book About the Pandemic. I'm Scared No One Will Want to Read It, a guest post by Sara Saedi

by Robin Willis

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

2023 Caldecott Jump

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Bonds and Books: An Interview with Megan Dowd Lambert About Building Connections Through Family Reading

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Recent Graphic Novel Deals, Early Mar 2023 | News

by Johanna

Heavy Medal

March suggestions: early Mock Newbery possibilities

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Playing to our Strengths (and Other Insights on Co-Authoring a Novel): A Conversation with Nicole Melleby and A. J. Sass

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Newbery Medalist Amina Luqman-Dawson visits The Yarn

by Colby Sharp

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Underdog Titles That Could Take the Prize | Pondering Printz

Two YA Fiction Titles About Artificial Intelligence and Grief

10 Manga Titles for Teens Who Watch Anime

Current Events Reflect Current Reads | Pondering Printz

Fun and Games: Capitalize on Olympic Excitement with These Titles

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023