“I saw Eternity the other night,
Like a great ring of pure and endless light.” – Henry Vaughan

Three weeks ago, Madeleine L’Engle passed away. She was my first ‘favorite’ writer and colored my childhood and adolescence with her words and stories. Her ability to combine science and spirituality informed the way I learned to see the world… and still do.

She wrote characters whose love for each other was so deep, it could literally transcend time and space. She showed that it was possible to overcome betrayal and sorrow inflicted by those we loved. That the worlds of science and spirit and beauty are so interwoven that they become one. These are the gifts that Madeleine L’Engle gave me, and the world.

She even affected where I went to college. My favorite book of hers, and perhaps my favorite book of all time, A Ring of Endless Light made me long to be a marine biologist. I journeyed off to Maine to do just that. 4 years later, to my surprise, I realized that what I really wanted to do was write for children and young adults. A decision, also, informed by Madeleine L’Engle.

In another, more subtle layer to the fabric, I’ve traveled through the world, often identifying kindred spirits by the discovery of a secret bond. A deep love for Madeleine L’Engle’s books. There is an instant friendship with these individuals like we are speaking our own secret language.

It’s taken me a while to figure out what I wanted to say about Madeleine L’Engle’s death. She’s a woman who I never met, but who influenced my life on the deepest level. Her characters dance through my life and when I think about writing books that touch people, I think of her. I realized that all I can say is thank you.

Thank you, Madeleine L’Engle. Thank you for pouring your soul out onto the page. For creating complex, beautiful, and, sometimes, frightening worlds for children to live in. Thank you for giving us endless hope, for showing us that other people experience the same losses and betrayals that we experience, and for giving us lovingly crafted words for us to savor now that you’ve moved on. And while I feel sad at the loss of such a great and true voice, I hold Madeleine L’Engle’s own words close to my heart. Words that comforted her character Vicky in the face of death.

“Yet a great ring of pure and endless light
Dazzles the darkness in my heart.” -Madeleine L’Engle

Posted in Books, Writing

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