By Alyssa Nicole
“Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”-King Of Hearts, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”
A young girl wearing a dress the color of cloudless skies tumbles down a rabbit hole in pursuit of a frantic waistcoat-wearing critter. Sound familiar? Alice in Wonderland, the whimsical children’s tale born from the brilliant mind of author Lewis Carroll, has been a beloved tale since 1865. This story holds a special key to my heart, for I was lucky enough to be cast as the eponymous character when I was sixteen years old. I coalesced myself with Alice’s character that summer, and to this day she and her story are imprinted upon my heart.
I read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass immediately after I was cast as Alice in my community theater’s summer production. I wanted to fully immerse myself in the character and the story so I could better understand my role and the cast of chaotic characters I would be interacting with. I quickly fell in love with both books, and wanted to do justice to the sprightly, inquisitive young girl I would be playing.
It was intimidating to say the least, being handed a one hundred fifty paged script, and then realizing I had lines on every page. I was diligent as I studied, with the help of my proud mother quizzing me every night. I so enjoyed working with the colorful cast of characters, who were just as zany outside of their roles as they were in them. I met a forever friend amongst them who would one day have an incredibly significant impact on my future. The summer of 2005 was as fantastical and dreamlike as Wonderland itself. I still vividly remember the excitement of donning my big blue dress, the bright spotlights of the stage as I sat daintily at the Mad Tea Party. It took many rehearsals not to laugh during that scene! I cradled the Duchess’s pig baby, recited ridiculous rhymes to the Blue Caterpillar, played croquet with the Queen of Hearts, enjoyed silly banter with the Cheshire Cat, and was nearly decapitated by the executioner in a chaotic court case! And no, I did NOT steal the Queen’s cherry tarts! After two weeks’ worth of performances, I took my final bow as Alice, a bittersweet moment that has become preserved as a forever memory in my mind. Photographs, pamphlets, and a wooden key remain pressed between the pages of my precious scrapbook.
It was not until I turned thirty that Alice in Wonderland would become significant to me again. It was the year that everything changed, much like my sixteenth year, taking a tumble down a rabbit hole once again. That day my mom and I challenged ourselves to a Wonderland-themed escape room, a clever recreation of the Carrollian classic. Months later, I reconnected with my old theater friend who needed actors for one of the plays that she had written. I acted in a few plays after Alice but had not done anything theatrical since I was a teenager. In my usual say yes to anything mentality I agreed to take a small role to help her out. It was in this skit that I met a fellow Alice aficionado, who (spoilers!) would one day become my husband. Our first date was spent comparing our Alice collections that led to over five hours of chatting and a magical summer of falling in love. That fall, I dressed up as Alice for a Halloween Murder Mystery Dinner with my boyfriend as Lewis Carroll. It was fun reprising my role as Alice again, even if it was for only one night. Two and a half years later, we got engaged. The summer before the wedding was one of the best I can remember. That July, my mom threw me an incredible Alice in Wonderland bridal shower at a lovely Victorian tea shop. Tiny tea pot boxes filled with favors sat at every place setting, and my mom created lovely candlesticks with teacups stacked on top of them. There was an amazing assortment of wonderful finger sandwiches, salads, fruit, and dainty delights. It was a magical day, wearing my ruffled cottagecore dress, sipping tea with my bridesmaids, doing an Alice oracle reading, and enjoying games and gifts. The final game was also Alice-themed, where people received points based on Alice-related related regalia (watches, hearts, top hats etc…). Now of course, no one in attendance was wearing a top hat, so when my mom called it out everyone glanced around the room at each other as if to confirm this fact. Suddenly from the stairwell, a man’s voice called out “I am!” and there was my husband- to-be, fully dressed in a Mad Hatter’s costume! My mom hatched this plan months prior, plotting with her future son-in-law and somehow successfully keeping it a secret from me. I screamed and leapt out of my seat, hugging him as though I had not seen him in 10 years, when in fact I had just seen him that morning. My mom joyfully cried, “Let’s get these two married already” and everyone cheered! And so, we were at our fairytale fall wedding.
Alice in Wonderland has made an impact on my life, the heart of many significant moments throughout the years. On the cusp of 34 years of age, I often find myself feeling like my own life is very much a Wonderland; confusing, chaotic, sometimes downright bizarre and a little bit scary. But all the same, it is whimsical, magical, wondrous, and a wild adventure full of twists and turns. Alice remains steadfast throughout all the chaos, yet flexible enough to acclimate to the ever-changing world she stumbled into. While this story in its essence is merely a fantastical dream of a young girl, it is also an inspiration to me in my own life’s journey. Carroll described Alice as “wildly curious,” “loving and gentle,” “trustful” and “courteous to all.” Though she was polite and respectful she had no trouble using her assertiveness when indignant over what she perceived as immoral or illogical, not unlike myself. She is inquisitive, clever and very brave. And yet it seems that Alice recognizes that oneself cannot be so easily defined. “Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle!” Ambiguity is the key that can unlock the door to self-discovery.
Another element I love about Wonderland is the openness to absurdity. I am quirky by nature and find that silliness brings levity and fun to routine. Why not believe in six impossible things before breakfast, as the Duchess does? Why not make up your own words to songs like The Mad Hatter? Why not make up your own rules to games like the Queen of Hearts? Nonconformity is often the mother of innovation and creativity. By thinking outside of the box, a Wonderland of possibility is at our fingertips.
Now I sit with a porcelain cup filled with chamomile brew, finishing off the last crumbs of homemade lavender teacake as I thumb through the well-worn pages of one of my most favorite stories. It is amazing how certain books can have such an enormous impact on your life, how the universe that an author creates from the depths of their own mind can still have an impact centuries later. Stories can be carried in our hearts, leave lasting imprints on our minds and interwoven with our psyches. Which books have shaped your life?
‘ve been reading two books by a literary critic that I like a lot named Gary Saul Morson. He wrote a great book about Anna Karenina called Anna Karenina in Our Time: Seeing More Wisely, so I was curious to learn about his other work. One book, Narrative and Freedom: The Shadows of Time, is about how certain novelists, like Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, create stories that convey a sense of time as open, even if the novelist knows what is going to happen. It also talks about how novelists represent free will in their characters, and fight against an interpretation of the world as deterministic. The second book, Mikhail Bakhtin: Creation of a Prosaics, co-authored with Caryl Emerson, is about the work of a Russian literary critic and philosopher named Mikhail Bakhtin, who came up with some very innovative and exciting ways of thinking about the novel as a genre. Morson is a wonderful, lucid, and deep thinker, and I’m enjoying these books very much. Andrew
Sixteen-year-old Elena is the product of a virgin birth (it’s a real thing with a scientific explanation). She also hears voices and can perform miracles (there is no scientific explanation for this). Elena is just trying to navigate normal high school crushes and family drama, and she really doesn’t have time to save the world. Also, she’s not really sure she should be saving it. This is a truly bizarre and thought-provoking novel for fans of A.S. Kind and Libba Bray’s Going Bovine. Megan
This book is really all about the importance of being a good role model as a parent and letting your child be who she wants to be. The book dives into the history of the Disney princess culture and how it has evolved over the years and has affected our culture, specifically our young daughters. I found the book to be somewhat lacking in concrete insight for navigating the logistics of fostering my child’s authentic self while she is very drawn to the imagery and excitement of princess culture. Beth
Do you love/hate fairy tales? Hero journeys? Landscapes made of candy? Have you ever wondered what would happen if Dorothy hadn’t found her way back to Kansas? Then you will enjoy this graphic novel. I hate Fairyland (Volume 1) follows the story of Gert, a green haired, ax wielding, foul mouthed, middle aged 6 year old (In Fairyland, time goes by but you don’t age). Gert hasn’t really taken the conventional path to finding her way back home and after a few decades of failed riddles and violent vendettas she may have worn out her welcome. A hilarious, graphic-graphic novel. Greg
This autobiographical graphic novel relates the early life of Senator John Lewis from his rural upbringing on an Alabama farm through his early involvement in the Nashville Civil Rights Movement. March does a very nice job of providing the larger context of the movement and what is happening outside of Nashville and Lewis’s immediate world. However, the authors manage to keep the story from losing focus of Lewis personal experience and the impact that creates. This is done in part by having the story told from Senator Lewis’ own voice as he provides an impromptu tour of his office on Inauguration Day, just before President Obama is about to be sworn into office for the first time. A fascinating and powerful read. Trent
When Johanna Langley’s father Sir Hugo suddenly dies, Johanna wants to understand what happened to him during WWII. He was a British bomber pilot who was shot down over German-occupied Tuscany near the town of San Salvatore. Local resident Sofia Bartoli tended to his needs at severe risk to herself, family and village. When Johanna visits San Salvatore 30 years later, no one remembers her father or wants to talk about Sophia. A treat for fans of historical fiction. Emma
This book has been on my radar for several years, and being the chosen book for One Community Reads, I finally dove into it, and I am so very happy I did. This is a grim read but a necessary read. Author, Matthew Desmond does an excellent job of engaging the reader in a piece of non fiction. He introduces the reader to eight families in Milwaukee living in poverty and struggling with eviction. Readers learn about the business and culture of evictions, while getting a glimpse of what it’s like to live in some of the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee. Many residents are spending more than half of their meager income on housing. For most, what money is left after paying rent simply isn’t enough to get by, hence, starts a downward spiral leading to evictions. The fates of the eight families in this book are in the hands of two landlords. I couldn’t help but feel that there is blood on the hands of everyone. Desmond spent years living in these neighborhoods, painstakingly taking notes and recording events. I highly recommend this book to everyone. Mary
Having several friends and family members who suffer from anxiety, I wanted to read a book to help me understand and empathize with them. Monkey Mind, so far, has done the trick. It is an extremely eye-opening memoir about the onset and treatment of Daniel Smith’s anxiety disorder. He intersperses stories about his own life with research and writings about anxiety from scientists and philosophers like Kirkegaard and Freud. When the audiobook starts to feel overwhelming (because Daniel Smith’s rehearsals of his absurd, painful, and self-destructive thought patterns can be just that), I remind myself that this is how it is to live with anxiety, and that I am one of the lucky ones who can turn off the audiobook and walk away. The book is not 100% heavy and dramatic, though — Daniel Smith’s dry humor about the situations he finds himself in is one of the strengths of the book. Trigger warning: the author does not shy away from sharing a story about how he was raped at 16, and while he documents what happened (in my opinion) tactfully, it is still distressing. Lindsey
Eight years after many failed fertility treatments and a tragic adoption, Tess is still grieving and bitter as she visits her childhood friend in her hometown in rural Vermont. Torn between her great love for her best friend’s two daughters and her jealousy of the life they lead, as well as the growing rift in her marriage, Tess’ visit is fraught with emotion. While driving home from a late night liquor store run, Tess sees a small, wounded half-naked little girl in her headlights on the dark country road. When she stops to help, the girls disappears into the woods. As Tess calls together the community to search for her, she finally finds a sense of purpose until those around her begin to suspect she was drunk, broken-hearted and imagined the whole thing. This book is a great look into grief, relationships, healing and what matters in life. Sara
In the 1970s, the Amazing Telemachus family toured the U.S. as psychic performers, led by patriarch/con-man Teddy and the genuinely talented Maureen. Debunked on national television, they lost their notoriety. Twenty years later, they’re all struggling with real world problems, albeit with a psychic dimension. Irene, a human lie detector test, can’t maintain a relationship and has brought her son Matty home to live with her father. Raconteur Frankie, who practices telekinesis, can’t get his business off the ground and is in hock to a local mobster. Buddy, the youngest, sees the future, and is steadily working to prevent it, even if it means building holes in the backyard. Told in alternating chapters from each character’s point of view, this quirky tale of family, mobsters, the CIA and first love, is a hoot – funny, crazy and tender. I listened to it on audiobook and it was a treat! Dori
Read it or Weep 