Wednesday, November 21, 2012

A Rekindled Love Affair With Nancy Drew

11_21_12-nancydrew


I’m now home and recovering from jet lag.  It will be a peaceful Thanksgiving because the extended family here in town already celebrated the holiday.  Several have other commitments for other turkey dinners on Thursday.  So mostly I’ll be trying to catch up with my St. Louis life (think “laundry”) while the rest of the country chows down on pumpkin pie.

This week I’m guest blogging on the website of  Sherry Isaac, winner of the Alice Munro Short Story Award in 2009 for “The Forgetting” and writer of mystery and romance.  She’s asked a wide range of writers to share our memories of life with the girl detective.  I’m proud to be part of this series.
 
Nancy Drew and the Mystery of the Russian Princess
 
Of the large library of books I had amassed growing up, there were only a few that stayed with me as I grew older. Of course I kept my Dr. Suess books. And then there was my Louisa May Alcott series, which showed young women with a spark of independence at a time I knew they really were only supposed to sit there and look pretty. Finally, there was my small collection of Nancy Drew mysteries.

I read them and imagined what it was like to be so confident and intelligent. Nancy was so self-sufficient and willing to place herself in the middle of the most dangerous situations. She never second-guessed herself or had to wonder who she could eat with in the lunchroom. She took on the world on her own terms.

I held on to those books. They sat at my dad’s house until he downsized to an apartment. I boxed them up and moved them from apartment to apartment to first house as my life advanced. One day, yes, one day I would have a little girl. . . .

(Read on here and share your own Nancy tales)


And on a side note, here’s my personal take on Black Friday Creep.  Support your local small business this holiday season and remember to take more family time than shopping time.

What’s your favorite Thanksgiving memory or food?  Share it in the comments box then resume your eating.  Happy Thanksgiving!

8 comments:

Leah said...

I remember reading all the Nancy Drew books. In fact, I still have my original collection. I hope my daughter will want to read them all one day too.

Patricia said...

Nancy Drew was a favourite of mine as well and I admire all of you who kept your collections. Too many family moves as a child somehow meant heavy boxes of our books didn't get to come along.The reminiscences of Nancy on Sherry's blog have been great fun to read and I enjoyed your touching post.
Happy Thanksgiving/laundry day!

Anonymous said...

Great post, Julie, and so true. Our kids are different. My mom once said that when I was a child, she did or said something to me in order to achieve a certain goal - make me do something. The result she got was the opposite of what she wanted. I guess it's universal.
My daughter was not adopted, I gave birth to her, but you can't find two more different women than her and me.

Nadine Feldman said...

I really loved this glimpse into your life as a parent. What a delightful, strong daughter you have raised!

I loved Nancy Drew, and I still love Alcott (I just downloaded the new book Marmee & Louisa, and I even traveled to her home). I came into my stepchildren's lives too late to share these books, but maybe the future grandchildren!

Julie Farrar said...

Ooo, I haven't heard of that book, Nadine. I'll have to seek it out.

As I've read the posts and comments in Sherry's series, I'm surprised by how many kept their childhood books for so long. Wonder what the current younger generation will keep if all their entertainment is electronic?

Melinda Farrar said...

Reading Nancy Drew books with our childhood friend and you is one of my favorite memories while growing up. I think the books did influence all three of us to become more independent and individualistic.

Tele said...

Congratulations on the guest post, Julie! It's a wonderful tribute to your daughter - and to you, as well, for prioritizing those values. Lovely.

Michelle said...

My daughter wouldn't read Nancy Drew, either. She was too busy reading everything else. So now I'm rereading them all myself and having an absolute blast. Tried reading them to my six and eight year old sons -- that definitely didn't work!

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