Who Was E.B. White? by Gail Herman

 Who Was E.B. White? – a beloved American writer who wrote Stewart Little, Charlotte’s Web and The Trumpet of the Swan among other famous stories.

Elwyn Brooks White (1899-1985) was born in Mount Vernon, New York. He didn’t like his name so he went by Andy. They lived in the suburbs, half an hour from NYC. He liked having both worlds. But his siblings were older and he had no one to play with. So he filled his time with playing outdoors, and with animals. He used his imagination to engage him.

As a child, he had a tendency to worry, and lacked confidence. He was smart but he didn’t like school. He was afraid to read in front of everyone. Writing helped him through his school years. At Cornell University, he started to work on the school’s newspaper. He wrote news stories, poems, and humor pieces.

After college, he wasn’t sure what career to pick. He just knew that he liked writing. So in 1922, he took a road trip with his college friend. He hoped that by seeing different places it would give him ideas what to write about. After 18 months, he returned and wrote about his adventures for a magazine.

In 1925, he came across The New Yorker and liked it right away. Andy sent in samples of his articles and was recognized right away. People liked his articles about his funny misfortunes. He never took himself too seriously.

In 1929, he married Katherine Sergeant Angell who was the fiction editor at The New Yorker.

In 1933, they bought a farm in Maine.

With the rise of dictatorship in Europe, he started writing more political pieces, standing up for democracy.

Throughout his life he struggled with worry and depression. He took a few months off staying alone in Maine while Katherine was in NYC with children. He wanted to stay close to nature.

In 1937, he began to write a column for Harper’s Magazine. He continued to voice his opinion in regards to events in Europe. He stood up for freedom and wanted the US to join the war.

The family returned to NYC in 1943, and they both returned working for The New Yorker.

Meanwhile, he continued to struggle with some nervous break-down in 1943. He saw many doctors and eventually felt better.

He was afraid that he’d ran out of time with the story he began in 1926 – about the little mouse – Stewart. It was previously rejected. Now, another editor couldn’t understand how a mouse could be a part of a human family. Andy had faith in children and persisted. Stuart Little was published in October 1945. And he was right. Children loved it.

He continued to be outspoken about certain issues – environment, civil rights, democracy, and freedom – which are as important today as they were decades ago. A new collection of his political writings was published in 2019.

Meanwhile, he also continued to spin the stories with animals. In the late 1940s, it was about a spider. He studied spiders for a year. In 1953, Charlotte’s Web won a Newbery Honor, a top award in children’s books. It became the most popular book in children’s literature – ever.

In 1957, they moved back to Maine.

In 1970, Trumpeter Swan was published and became another best seller.

This biography illustrates a man who had tendency to worry and lacked confidence, but that actually led him to a space where he felt most comfortable - in nature and with animals. And that’s where he found his calling. He connected his love for writing with his observation of animals and span stories loved by both children and adults.

This illustrated biography for young readers, ages 8-12, is presented in a relatable way, with simple sentences, and insightful inserts.

Source: Penguin Workshop, 2022

 

 

 

TRENDING INSPIRATION: “Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.” – E.B. White

 

 

 

Traits:

·         As a child, he had a tendency to worry, lacked confidence, was afraid to read in front of everyone - writing helped him through his school years.

·         While at University, he used his time wisely as he worked on the school’s newspaper: writing news stories, poems, and humor pieces.

·         After college, he wasn’t sure what career to pick. He just knew that he liked writing. So he took a road trip with his college friend. Seeing different places gave him ideas what to write about. When he returned, he wrote about his adventures for a magazine.

·         People liked his articles about his funny misfortunes. He never took himself too seriously.

·         Throughout his life he struggled with worry and depression but he recognized that nature brought him solace.

·         He wasn’t afraid to stand up for democracy when dictatorship was on a rise in Europe.

·         His story about the little mouse – Stewart was previously rejected but he had faith in children and persisted. When it was published, it became a beloved story by all.

·         Before he wrote a story about a spider, he studied spiders for a year. Charlotte’s Web became the most popular book in children’s literature – ever.

·         When Trumpeter Swan was published, it became another best seller.

 

 

 

“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world.” – E.B. White

FURTHER INSPIRATION AND RECOMMENDATION:

 

As E.B. White was torn with making decisions sometimes, it happens to all of us. The good thing is that there are many tools out there these days to give us guidance how to make better decisions by knowing ourselves better. Thus, not depleting or blocking our energies. When energy is blocked, then different issues appear.  

One of the tools is understanding energy which we’re made of and which surround us - The Energy Codes by Dr. Sue Morter. The key is to live as conscious energy being. The codes are to help us to shift from Protective Personality to Soulful Self, which can also happen spontaneously. The seven Energy Codes are to help us achieve just that.

“For those ready and willing to build a new life, here are the tools. Powerful, incisive, extraordinary writing.” —Neale Donald Walsch, New York Times bestselling author of Conversations with God

Transform your life with this revolutionary and accessible seven-step guide—grounded in energy medicine, neurobiology, and quantum physics—to awaken your true health and potential through energy healing.

Eighteen years ago, health pioneer and practitioner Dr. Sue Morter had a remarkable and profound awakening. While meditating, she spontaneously accessed an energy field—a level of consciousness—beyond anything she had ever imagined. This dramatic experience changed her life, freeing her from years of struggle and pain.

It also set Dr. Morter on a mission to discover how to create such radical transformation for her patients. Through years of advanced study and research in energy healing and medicine, she developed the Energy Codes, a life-changing program that has now enabled thousands of people all over the world to overcome pain, disease, fatigue, anxiety, and depression, and to awaken their innate creativity, intuition, and inner power.

Bridging ancient healing practices with cutting-edge science, The Energy Codes offers a detailed road map to help you experience deep healing in your life. Grounded in practical, accessible exercises, including yoga, breathwork, meditations, and Dr. Morter’s proprietary B.E.S.T. protocol, The Energy Codes will help you activate untapped energy and neurocircuitry in your body, empower your hidden potential, and become one with your true, essential self.

Prepare to change your life by changing your energy.

Helen Keller by Libby Romero

Who was Helen Keller? - the first blind and deaf person to graduate from college. 

Helen was born on June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama. She was eighteen months when she got sick and lost her sight and hearing. She made up her own signs to communicate but besides that it was very frustrating for her to communicate. She was miserable and throwing tantrums every day. 

The parents hired a private teacher, Anne Sullivan, who graduated as the best student at Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston. It was challenging to teach words to someone who was blind and deaf, but one day Anne took Helen to water pump. As Helen held mug in one hand under the pump, the cold water rushed down. At the same time, Anne spelled water in Helen’s other hand. That day, Helen learned 30 new words.

Anne taught Helen how to use braille, a code with raised letters. So she could read with her fingers. Her education progressed to studying different subjects and languages. She also practiced speech which was very challenging for her. 

Further, she continued her education at different schools. It was her dream to attend Radcliffe, and she did, where she also was encouraged to write an autobiography. After graduating, and the book becoming an international bestseller, she decided to become a professional author.

But her following books didn’t do as well. When she was tight on money, she decided to travel the country and give lectures, which became a huge success. 

Then, came a movie offer about her life. Then, a new opportunity to become fundraiser for the blind organization. She won many awards. She died at the age of eighty-seven.

This biography demonstrates a woman who defied the odds; her adversity strengthened her determination to go to college. As a result she is remembered as an inspirational symbol of strength.

This illustrated biography series for young readers, ages 8-12, is presented in a relatable way, with simple sentences and enriched with insightful inserts.

The illustrations are very peculiar with distorted bodies. The book carries also real photographs, which I prefer over illustrations.

Source: DK Children, 2019

TRENDING INSPIRATION: Adversity is to Strengthen Your Determination

 

Traits:

·         She didn’t let her disadvantage stop her from following her dream

·         She persisted in everything she did even if it was a struggle

·         She proved that even with being disadvantaged you can achieve great things

 

“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” – Helen Keller

FURTHER INSPIRATION AND RECOMMENDATION:

Her strong personality brings to mind the strong belief that we create our own reality with our consciousness. With that it brings to mind Reiki.

 Everyday Reiki: A Self-Healing Routine for Mastering the Teachings and Practice of Reiki by Dawn McLaughlin is the healing energy and the healing modality through the connection to the universal healing energy.

In the 1890s, a Japanese Buddhist monk, Dr. Mikao Usui, during a religious pilgrimage supposedly received the transmission of the energy healing – Reiki.

Our body contains seven energy chakras (we also have chakras above our body totaling in twelve) – vortices of energy in constant motion. However, due to, for example, unprocessed emotions, its accumulation in our lower abdomen (that’s where unprocessed emotions accumulate), which corresponds with sacral chakra, gets blocked.

Reiki healing can assist with the removal of energy blockages, restoring balance and optimal health. However, healing occurs according to the highest good of the healing participant, thus the precise nature of the healing is not known. (The highest good meaning are you learning your life’s lessons or not. Are you paying attentions to patterns that appear in your life).

This book provides straight-forward steps for self-healing and healing others. The steps are easy to follow. However, the mindfulness in processing all the information and performing it is the key.

This book also offers two more advanced levels. It goes deeper into Reiki with symbols and their meaning, distance healing and psychic senses. Each level ends with the 40 day immersion experience, and each day offers more guidance and helping to further advance in this energy healing.

This Reiki book is an excellent guidebook to connecting to universal energy healing. If you’re a skeptic, then keep in mind that everything is energy. And the best way to test it is to put it in use. And it’s easy as it should be. We humans have the tendency to complicate things.  

Source: Llewellyn Publications, 2023