I am more and more coming to believe that fiction may be the only way to portray truth, so My Life, The Book would not be a biography. I would love to see how two different authors would write about my life experiences: Kenneth Grahame and PG Wodehouse.

When things seem pretty grim I sometimes amuse myself by wondering how those two authors would put my experiences into story form.

I have a sister who is Mr.Toad (Wind in the Willows). This came to me when I was sitting in a courtroom watching her speak to a judge. That thought helped my stress level greatly, it is amazing how thinking of a favorite book from childhood can make a situation more tolerable. And a quick wink of humor didn’t hurt  either.

There are other characters in my life that I think Kenneth Grahame could render beautifully. And the beach, which has a central place in my life could make a good river bank, tying the stories together. I love the way he is able to portray aggravating and frustrating characteristics and not loose the lovable side of the person. Sometimes I think I may be a Mr. Badger sort, but maybe I am just Ratty. His stories are both profound and gently humorous..

PG Wodehouse is more slapstick and, of course, very British culturally. And yet, I could see him going Pacific Northwest style and doing a really good job describing my father who could make a Lord Emsworth of Blandings type of character, and the ferries would make a good parallel to taking the train to London or the country which is a common plot element in his stories.

He could probably make my son, with his four aunts, each with a different, very strong, personality into a great series. I am not sure what he would do with me, I might need to be an aunt in someone else’s story, but that is okay,  I don’t feel the need to be the star. The thing PG can do is turn drama into a good laugh. To quote Bill Cosby “If you can find humor in anything you can survive it.”

In some way reading stories by those two authors is reading about my life. That is one of the joys of literature.

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Your Life, the Book.”