Fantasy - from Childhood to Adulthood

My parents have read to me since I was a little girl. My father, especially, would pick a book and read it to my brother and me every evening for several months. These fantasy stories became foundational for me. They are the stories that I remember; the stories I cherish; the stories I will read to my children someday. With characters like Lucy to Frodo, I grew up into the woman I am today.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis was my father’s first choice. I journeyed through the wardrobe to Narnia with Lucy, felt doubt with Caspian, traveled the high seas with Reepicheep, rescued Prince Rilian with Jill and Eustace, watched Shasta become a prince, marveled at Narnia’s birth with Digory, and cried at Narnia’s end in The Last Battle. (in that order. :P) C.S. Lewis still inspires me with child-like joy at his great faith that shines through all his simple children’s stories.

After The Chronicles of Narnia, my father embarked us on another expedition. This was not to Narnia, but to the Lonely Mountain. Long was my journey with Bilbo Baggins in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. I cried when it was over, but I have traveled the Misty Mountains, traded riddles with Gollum, followed the paths of Mirkwood (until we left it!) many times since that first reading with my father. Only, my father’s trip for us didn’t end there.

The Lord of the Rings is arguably my favorite piece of fantasy. I will admit that as an adolescent that the first book was rather slow, but the Council of Elrond sent me with speed on the long road to Mount Doom, and I never looked back. Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, and Gimli were my constant companions. But not only them, for all the characters of Middle Earth became as close to me as family. I felt the struggle of the ring with Frodo, fought Shelob with Sam, stabbed the Witch King with Merry, went to the gates of Mordor with Pippin, watched Gandalf fall to the Balrog (and come to life again), saw Aragorn go from Strider to a King of Gondor, saw myself in Boromir, and searched for captive hobbits with Legolas and Gimli. This epic has inspired my teenage years in more ways than can be counted. J.R.R. Tolkien may not have intended LOTR as a Christian story, but his faith still seeps through it in many ways.

But after these stories were read, my love for fantasy only grew. I finally plunged into the rich depths of Tolkien’s The Silmarillion -- with The Complete Guide to Middle Earth for help. I grew with Harry Potter into the wizard who would save his friends. I felt his sorrow at his parent’s death, the rush of playing quidditch, the joy of his having friends. I watched him battle Voldemort, rescue a friend’s sister while killing the Basilisk, save an innocent man’s life, win the Triwizard Tournament Cup at great cost, grieve over a loved one’s death, try to find the horcruxes, and finally die for his friends. Harry Potter’s stories by J.K. Rowling became very dear to me. She established her characters with strengths and weakness, but also she gave me an unlikely hero that I could believe in and hope for.

Until recently , I had not been reading very much fantasy. But last year for my brother’s birthday, he was given The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander. After he had finished reading, I started an adventure with Taran, an a Assistant Pig Keeper. This adventure has now ended. I rode with Taran all across Prydain and watched him become a man. I saw him fight the Horned King, find the Black Cauldron, race to find Elionwy, struggle about his birth, and finally find where he belongs.

I started my travels through fantasy with a children’s story, and at this point (until another story comes along) have finished with a children’s story. From Lucy to Taran, my wanderings are full. Amidst all of these stories, I have become who I am today. Without a single one of them, I would be different. Stories that we read or have been read to us are not simply “stories;” they are legends that affect us and our worldview. I am so glad that my father chose fantasy for his child. These are stories that I will always cherish. I pray that my children will love them as much as I do.