Life by the Book

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m an avid reader. I grew up as an only child in a house full of books and I don’t recall any of them being off-limits to me. I devoured all the typical authors; Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, Lois Lowry and more were all staples. I loved these books because I could relate to the characters (I still highly identify with Ramona Quimby). One day, I picked up a book by John Irving.

For those not familiar with Irving’s works, there are themes in nearly all of his books that I don’t relate to: an unknown father, bears in some capacity, missing limbs, premature deaths and more. I’m not sure what drove me to start that book, but just a few pages in and I was hooked. That book - A Prayer for Owen Meany - has been my favorite book for longer than I’d care to admit. This post isn’t intended to be an Owen book report (although I’d happily write one!); rather, Owen was the book that pushed me to the library to discover more of Irving’s works.

I came home with The Hotel New Hampshire and immediately delved into it. Without giving too much away, this is the story of a family over the course of several decades. The father, Win Berry, meets a peculiar gentleman named Freud. Freud takes an interest in Berry and they forge an unusual friendship. Freud moves to Europe. One day, Berry receives a letter from Freud, imploring him to move his family to Austria to help Freud run a hotel. Berry agrees to this. Why? Why would Berry agree to such a thing?

Freud is something of a father figure to Berry. He keeps an eye on him, wanting the best for Berry and his family, and wanting him to have the life Freud didn’t have. This is Freud’s passion, and he drills it home:

When I read those words as a teenager, they caused me to stop and think about that… but not a whole lot. After all, when you’re a teenager, you’re immortal. There will *always* be opportunities, right?

I’ve reread The Hotel New Hampshire countless times since then, most recently about six months ago. That quote still impacts me, and it was one of a million signs that the universe was giving me to move forward with In Your Pocket. This is an opportunity that I had denied myself for quite a while, as we’re taught to get a job, stay there, do things someone else’s way, and try to live life when you’re off the clock. I knew, though, that the opportunity to launch In Your Pocket wasn’t just sitting in front of me. It was waking me up in the middle of the night. It was on my front porch, kicking and flailing and setting off Ring notifications. It wouldn’t shut up. Maybe, I thought, it’s time to take that opportunity. So here we are.

One day, as Freud said, the opportunities will stop… but today is not that day, so I’m going to take every one available.

PS: If you’re curious, The Hotel New Hampshire was adapted into a movie in 1984 with a cast that includes Jodie Foster, Rob Lowe, Matthew Modine and Seth Green. And if you’ve read the book, it will not surprise you that Freud is played by Wallace Shaun.