We think we believe what we know, but we only truly believe what we feel.
-Laurence Gonzales, Deep Survival
*******
I spent the day reading the book Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales. I have read accounts of people who have survived against incredible odds--personal narratives of Holocaust survivors, stories of people trapped, broken in the wilderness who still manage to keep going--and I always wonder why it is that some people survive and some don't. What makes the difference? What is it that keeps people going even when there seems to be no hope? And of course, my own history of battling the black dragon has made me doubly curious.
The author of this book has spent his life seeking the answer to that very question: what makes some people survive and others not? What makes a survivor?
I need time to process the book more, but I have been struck by how many things about the way the brain works, how many things that help/hinder people in life/accidents can be applied to writing--and maybe specifically to being stuck in one's writing. Stay tuned for more discussions on survival--and surviving writing.
The author of this book has spent his life seeking the answer to that very question: what makes some people survive and others not? What makes a survivor?
I need time to process the book more, but I have been struck by how many things about the way the brain works, how many things that help/hinder people in life/accidents can be applied to writing--and maybe specifically to being stuck in one's writing. Stay tuned for more discussions on survival--and surviving writing.
4 comments:
Sarah;
It may be commitment, at least as writers. Some of us are commited to writing every day and some aren't. In an accident or other calamity, panic is the biggest factor. If we stay cool--note the three guys rescued from their boat 180 miles off shore after the Coast Guard gave up the search--there's a better chance things will work out. Same with writing. If we "panic" to get something on paper, it lacks passion, clarity, or order. Sounds like a very interesting book.
Panicking is bad. Definitely. But so is not taking any action.
It is an AWESOME book. I will write about it--just not tonight. First day of work today and I am wiped out.
Interesting topic. I think about this survival thing from the angle of recovery from addiction: who gets to recover and who doesn't? And I agree, to an extent, that there IS a fair amount of discipline involved. It's not all just talent. Or grace.
Let's take rock 'n roll as a metaphor. Some famous non-survivors made some brilliant art (Jimi, Janis, etc.) Then other people, year in and year out, keep pumping out the tunes (Bob Dylan, Neil Young).
These are loose and disconnected thoughts. But you got me thinking....
Hmmm, I wonder if some of our "geniuses" would be able to produce what they produced if they had had the survivor mentality? Van Gogh, Hendrix, Hemingway?
Maybe to really push into a new boundary you have to get past worrying about surviving.
Or course, survival thinking involves coming to an acceptance that you might die. Accepting your death even while fighting against it.
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