When Monday is a national holiday, it gets a pass.
One of the most important things creativity can be used for is not necessarily pushing your own views, but zooming in on something that needs more attention. In Joe Compton’s Amongst the Killing, it was how multidimensional the pain of loss can be and that it can cause self-destruction. In Jason Greensides’ The Distant Sound of Violence, it was recognition of how undervalued life can be and the spiderweb effect that can have on others, directly and indirectly. And in my book Anatomy of a Darkened Heart, it was the irreparable damage that can be done when someone is continually taught they’re worthless or wicked.
These messages aren’t meant to get you down. They’re meant to bring attention to things that aren’t talked about often enough. They’re meant to make you think about those who go through things you can’t imagine, to help you feel compassion for things you may never truly understand (hopefully). And they’re meant to warn you of situations you may not have seen coming before, situations you may be better prepared for after you read about them, even in fiction. They’re meant to help you reflect in an introspective way and to see more in others. Imagine how flat our lives might be without reading about others in places, relationships, and cultures so different from our own.
The best fiction makes us feel as if we’ve lived another life. And the best fiction of all makes us question any one-dimensional opinions we had before reading, especially ones we weren’t aware we had.
