Stories of the Human Spirit

I recently read the classic novel, Travels With Charley, by John Steinbeck. I’ve read stacks of American Literature novels, both as a lover of reading, and in preparation for teaching high school Lit courses over the years. 

I’m a book nerd and proud. 

My all-time favorite book on the planet is Walden by Henry David Thoreau. I even dragged my then-preteen son to Walden Pond in near Concord, Massachusetts one summer; every young boy’s dream summer vacation I’m sure. An ominous summer storm rolled in and lightning hit a tree right next to us. But there was an ant collecting tidbits on the doorstep of the cabin. AN ANT! If you’ve read the book or have faked reading the book because you were a student of mine, then you will certainly know why I wanted to watch that ant for just a moment longer! Ben literally had to grab my arm and drag me to a basement shelter in the Walden museum nearby until the storm passed. I felt a very deep connection to nature at that moment; HDT would have been proud of his student! I’m not so sure parenting experts would have given me the Mom of the Year award for not seeking safety for my kid during a thunderstorm, but Ben and I are working through that. I bribe him with meals, and he seems to have forgiven me for his almost-death-by-lightning-strike. 

My second favorite novel is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, and my third favorite is a middle grade novel by Silas House and Neela Vaswani called Same Sun Here. I could share my fourth, fifth, and sixteenth favorites—in order! All my literary loves are numbered and catalogued in my internal filing system. It’s a blessing and a curse, but it’s orderly, so I’m thrilled. 

These three books were mindset-shifting for me, and continue to be each time I re-read them with my students. I push these three books on any student (and grown-up for that matter) willing to tolerate my constant excited interruptions during the parts that I love, which is essentially every word on every page. I apologize in advance. I empathetically convey my reasoning for my psychotic joy. My aim in sharing is to attempt to guide my students to the fork in the road between having to read and wanting to read by using the wacky passion I feel for the words on the page and the devices the authors used to convey the human spirit through their literary conduit. 

The human spirit is the deepest, worthiest recipient of our attention. 

Our purpose as humans is to connect our souls and help each other’s spirits’ grow.

How are we doing this, right now, in this climate and in this culture? 

Now, in Travels With Charley, I’ve found words that ring so true and have reminded me of my belief in our calling to share positivity, potential, and hope. 

“A sad soul can kill you far quicker than a germ travels.”- Steinbeck

How appropriate in this time of heaviness. How perfect for the human race in this moment. How many of us are feeling the weight of divisiveness? Which of us are collecting tidbits of negativity into our hearts that we are hearing, seeing, and actively feeling like that ant I observed at Walden Pond, collecting tidbits to take back to his family for  survival?

“I wrote long letters home, passing my loneliness around.”- Steinbeck

I am guilty of this. The COVID-19 germs have not infected me directly, but “Coro-negativity” has certainly plagued me. I have infected others unintentionally with my sadness. I have passed around my worry like a sneeze; it has not been intentional, but few sicknesses come from true bad intention. So I choose to shun the heavy blanket of loss, of sorrow, of worry, and instead, seek and shine hope, support, and joy. 

“A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.”- James Keller

Be a light for the person closest to you today. We do not need to try and change the world, because when we seek to uplift just one person, we change the world by default. Every person we share hope and light with then has the potential to share their hope with another, and your actions can insight the butterfly effect. 

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”- Gandhi 

Immediate books I recommend for human connection/healing/growth by grade:

Kindergarten to 2nd Grade

The Happy Book, Eraser, Grumpy Monkey

3rd to 6th Grade

The One and Only Ivan, Where the Mountains Meet the Moon, The Mysterious Benedict Society

7th and 8th Grade

Same Sun Here, Home of the Brave, A Long Walk to Water

9th to 11th Grade

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse, Long Way Down, Diary of Anne Frank

12th Grade and Beyond

Walden, Travels With Charley, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings