"flowers from stones" by devi laskar

Recently in the Book Writing World, Elizabeth posted 13 items for a writer to remember: Today I want to discuss #7. The stories that save your life.

Sometimes, the story that saves you is an actual tale that you tell of harrowing adventure, near death experiences and the one small thing or one person who saved you from peril or crime.

But I think the phrase really refers to the stories that have inspired the writer to keep forging ahead and to not lose hope, the stories that have stopped writers and forced them to consider the power of love, the moments of forgiveness and acts of kindness that transcend all of the petty actions that would otherwise defeat us.

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “the things that will destroy us are: politics without principle; pleasure without conscience; wealth without work; knowledge without character; business without morality; science without humanity; and worship without sacrifice.”

I learned just yesterday that a beloved aunt had died. She was thousands of miles away in India, and with her death, my cousins were orphaned. She was not their real mother, in that she did not give birth to them. She was the stepmother who came into the family when their real mother unexpectedly died after a short illness. Then, after she married into the family, my uncle died unexpectedly, and had it not been for this aunt’s concern, her steadfast nature and her unconditional love, my cousins, who were at the time just young adolescents, would have been adrift.

I will always remember her, and how she held on tightly to my cousins and cared for them – I do not know all of her story nor will I ever learn all of the details of her struggles and dreams or wishes. But I can remember what she did and remember her. Just remember her.

Devi Laskar is a founding member of the Book Writing World. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Columbia University, an M.A. in South Asian Studies from the University of Illinois, is a rabid Tar Heel basketball fan, is working on a couple of novels and has 24 days to go before she finishes the first year of her art-a-day challenge.