Crying Over a Giant Pacific Octopus
In which a marine creature becomes the catalyst for me finally starting this silly little newsletter
Last week, while my three-year-old was under the supervision of his preschool teachers and my 11-month-old was napping, I found myself devouring the last hundred pages of Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel Remarkably Bright Creatures. (In full transparency, I usually shy away from popular literary fiction and opt for more time-tested novels. Dare I self-identify as a book snob?) Anyway, after coming across the dust jacket synopsis online one day while hiding from my kids in the bathroom (unrelated but feels important), the story piqued my interest and I snagged it from the library. After three chapters, I knew I had a good one, so I bought it from my local used book store. And that’s how I ended up in my living room on a quiet Tuesday morning, heaving giant sobs like my dog had just died. Nope, I was just finishing a fictional story about giant pacific octopus.
I snapped a picture of my ridiculous, red, blotchy crying face and sent it to Andrew with the message “I’m sobbing over an octopus” attached. (You can thank me later for including said photo below.)
I kept thinking to myself, “What is this? Why am I crying?? It’s fake! The octopus isn’t even real! Why am I crying over an octopus? Literally, for crying out loud!” Ironically, this was the second instance in a week that a book made me cry. I haven’t cried over a book in, what, two years? And two books in a row sent me running to the bathroom for tissues. (This other one happened to be A Woman of Independent Means by E.F. Hailey. You’re welcome.)
Yet, it got me thinking that if something can stir up that much emotion in me, even if it’s something “fake” and fictional, perhaps it could be worth sharing. Perhaps the goings-on in our lives that cause us to cry, laugh, scream, blush, praise, run to the store to recklessly purchase something you just heard about, or wake up your roommate in the middle of the night just to talk about it some more are worth writing about and putting out there for others to experience as well, in one way or another.
So that’s what this is, I think. There is so much in life that doesn’t get the attention it deserves (like giant pacific octopuses), and I want to provide that through this platform. My world might be very small—being a stay-at-home mom can make it feel even smaller sometimes—but creating something and putting it out into the world for others to enjoy, or even to judge, makes it feel a little bit bigger and makes me feel a little bit braver. Bravery. It’s something new that I’m trying lately.
I hope this newsletter will provide a laugh or two, either a new book to add to your TBR or movie to try on Netflix, or I’d even be satisfied with an eye roll. So for today, here is my long-winded endorsement of the two novels previously mentioned and an invitation to give a little more appreciation to the little things that make our lives worth living—and worth sharing.
I hope you’ll follow along and look forward to finding Page Break in your inboxes. My goal is to have this newsletter delivered to your inbox every Sunday night. Should this prove to be an enjoyable arrangement for both you and me, maybe I’ll get crazy and do twice a week. Only time will tell.
Until next time.