While
I was reviewing a submission for Gold Man
Review, I came across a comment in the piece about a book that had changed
the life of the writer. I wrote down the title of the book and saved it for my
future reading list. How could I not? What could be more interesting, more
powerful, than a book that changed a life? I was thankful the writer chose to
share the title, instead of just writing, “I read this book that changed my
life …” and then carried on. Because
now, little does this writer know, that sometime in the future this book may
change my life too.
On
a personal, individual level, there are books that have changed the way we see
ourselves, see our relationship to the world, and the paths we have chosen.
Fortunately, there are several such books that have influenced who I am today,
but one that most people might find surprising is J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter
Series. Yes, the boy wizard has had a profound impact on my life and I can even
go as far as to say that if it weren’t for Harry Potter, that geeky looking kid
with the lightning bolt scar on his forehead, I would not be me. So maybe there
is magic after all.
Here’s
how it happened:
I
was at Red Lobster the day my life changed. I was working as a server, it was
the lunch shift, and we had a parade of kids come in. Not necessarily a big
deal in and of itself, except these kids were dressed up in capes, had
lightning bolts drawn on their foreheads, and it wasn’t Halloween—now that was weird. I asked a coworker,
“What’s up with the lightning bolts and capes?”
“Oh,
it’s because of the Harry Potter movie. It was just released.”
“Harry
Potter?”
“
You never heard of it?”
I
had to really think, but then I remembered a friend of mine was reading those
books and I made fun of her for reading a kids book at 19 years old. “Yeah,” I
said, “I’ve heard of it.”
When
the movie came out on DVD, I jumped on it. I had to know what made Harry Potter
so popular. After watching the movie, I had to be honest; I thought I could do
better. Matter of fact, here were my
exact words: “This is it? This is what all the hype is about? I can write
something better than that!”
The
very next day, I came up with a title, characters, and a plot (although it
wasn’t really a plot) for my fantasy novel with wizards, elves, queens, and a
boy destined for greatness and went to it. I wrote the thing every semester
break nonstop and eventually finished it a year and a half later. I tried
submitting it to publishing houses, but since I’m pretty sure that I’m the only
person that has ever heard of Legend of
Magia, you all know how that went.
As
it turned out, I couldn’t write something better than Harry Potter. Not only is
J.K. Rowling an excellent writer and storyteller, but my first fantasy novel
had more problems than I could ever list here. The novel will more than likely
stay forever locked in a drawer and hidden away from public eyes, unless it’s
used for educational purposes on what NOT to do. Then it might see the light of the open
drawer.
If
not, that’s okay because even though the story was a flop, I kept going. I
moved on to other projects, kept writing, and kept learning until I was so far
in and so much in love with creating stories that I could never walk away. I
could never imagine a life without writing and, in the end; I owe my entire writing
career to Harry Potter. Long live the Boy Wizard!
And,
now, back to the books that changed us. We all have them and what can have more
of a hook than a book that changes lives. So here, I will put on my Life
Changing Books list: Harry Potter (all of them).
What
are your books?
Heather Cuthbertson is the Editor-in-Chief for Gold Man Review. To read more about Heather Cuthbertson go to Heather Cuthbertson's Page.
