lotr2024
Samwise Gamgee: The Heart of the Fellowship
Sam’s decisions in these five chapters cement both his character and his strength, both of which draw on his strongest attribute (and why I—and I suspect so many of us—adore him so much). His heart.
lotr2024
Only That Which They Defend
And yet, in The Lord of the Rings, Sam and Faramir end up having tremendous influence over the outcome of the story. Not because they are powerful, but because of those very attributes the world deemed unworthy.
lotr2024
Seeing Stones and Silver Tongues
Whether through magical devices or human speech, the challenge of conveying and receiving truth remains central to these chapters. This illustrates the difficulties of communication, not between different languages, but between what comes out and what is received.
lotr2024
Valuing the Least of These
Through these chapters, Tolkien illustrates that one of the highest goods—a light by which to choose in dark times—is caring for those who seem weakest among us, carrying them along in their journey.
lotr2024
To love at all is to be Vulnerable
So much fear and anger exists between people, and how easily we can see each other as enemies or “others.” I’m not so naive as to think that just listening and talking will solve all problems, but it is a starting point—one more powerful than we might think.
lotr2024
Hope in the Face of Shadow
From the (seemingly) lowly to the wise and powerful, for years—generations, even—people have been fighting with all the means they have—unseen, unthanked.
Everyone believes themselves to have been alone in their struggles. Only in this moment do they realise they never have been.
lotr2024
Reality Echoes in Tolkien's Legendarium
While The Lord of the Rings is an epic fantasy, depicting a life-threatening, world-altering quest, the story within Tolkien’s three books is but one small piece of a much larger history.
lotr2024
A Fellowship Stronger Than Fate
Neither of these Hobbits is chosen based on their skill, knowledge, or power, but rather on their fierce loyalty to Frodo. Arguably the most loved Hobbit of all, Samwise Gamgee, is the least impressive.
grief
Tracing Your Shadow through Shifting Leaves
“Your father is sick, so we must leave you sometimes,” Mommy says. Grandma cries below the stairs when she thinks I am asleep.
I clutch a photo of them when I miss them, and I pray God would spare him, that we might share in more, all the seasons of life together.
grief
I didn't want to be an author
I write not just for the boy taken too early from this world, but for the little girl who grew up too scared to speak her truth.
I write because I now know stories can light up the Shadow and save a life—two lives.
But one is enough.
lotr2024
Lord of the Rings Reading Challenge
Why Should You Read The Lord of the Rings?
Contrary to popular belief, this book is not a simple story of good defeating evil and everyone living happily ever after. There is so much nuance and layering that even after sixteen years of reading it, I find something fresh and relevant with each read.
identity
Roots and Wings
I am a mess of contradictions.
In the end, those jagged edges may never fit together into a perfect, cohesive whole. But really, who wants that anyway?
motherhood
Birthmarks and Breakdowns: A Raw Look at Maternal Anxiety
My therapist says I have a severe case of catastrophic thinking. Well, I could have told you that. At any minor setback, my brain somehow determines it’s the literal end of the world, and I start jumping through the mental hoops of how I’m going to cope with it.
social issues
Enmeshed but Alone
Even in collectivistic societies where families and friends live much more intertwined lives, loneliness is still prevalent.
identity
Home in the spaces between
I kept wanting something the world showed me I couldn't have. I wanted someone who'd look at my scars and not look away but call me beautiful. I wanted someone to loosen the knots around my thoughts and know what sort of tapestry they made. I wanted someone to call my own.
grief
What They Don't Tell You About the Third Year After Losing Someone
What they don’t tell you about the third year after loss:
In some ways, it’s harder than the first, maybe even the second.
adoption
When the Orphan Crisis Has a Name
On that day, we saw the number, and the number became a person, and I realised: she is one of the 153 million orphans.
adoption
Not Everyone Should Foster or Adopt a Child
May is National Foster Care Month in the U.S. I’m not going to give you numbers of how many children are in foster care or how many of them will suffer lifelong impediments as a result of their traumatic childhoods.
Instead, I’m going to share stories.
