I don't know if you saw it, but about a month ago, J.K. Rowling gave Oprah an exclusive interview, one of only a few she's ever given. I watched most of it, and it was very amazing. It was like other interviews, where the questions and answers are predictable. This was emotional: J.K. Rowling almost cried once. It was amazing to hear her reasons for the books and how her life affected the books. If you haven't seen it, go to http://video.the-leaky-cauldron.org/video/1629 and watch it. It's amazing.
J.K. Rowling talks about her life. When she started writing Harry Potter, she was clinically depressed, poor, and struggling to support her daughter. 6 months after she started the books, her mother died. She herself says that this made the books what they are today. The Harry Potter books are about death, how it affects the living, its many forms, etc. From her life, she drew characters such as the dementors, who represent how one feels when they are depressed. The story about the books coming to her on a train is true. Everything just popped into her head, flooding her with all the specifics about Hogwarts and wizards and such. In this interview, she talked about her family and her first marriage in depth for the first time.
One of my favorite quotes from the interview was actually from a commencement speech Rowling gave at Harvard: "Rock bottom became the foundation from which I rebuilt my life." She talks of the importance of failure, and how it is not necessarily a bad thing. From failures, we learn, and we grow. Similarly, with trials, we learn and we grow. Though it would be nice to stay away from rock bottom, we can know that we have a rock we can build on: the Savior. He's always there for us, throughout our trials and hardships.
Another idea they presented was the difference between a phenomenon and something normal. They talked about it in terms of Micheal Jackson. An article they had read said that Micheal Jackson didn't realize Thriller was a phenomenon, not the norm, and he spent the rest of his life chasing a phenomenon instead of moving on. Both Oprah and J.K. Rowling agree that they must move on, leave the phenomenon as a phenomenon, and move on to something different. This applies in our lives. If we are constantly comparing ourselves to what we did then, or how we were then, we will never be happy with how we are now. We must say "that was a great phase of my life, I wonder what the next one will hold" and move on. Take lessons with us, but then let the rest play out how it should. Many people waste away trying to relive the glory days and they miss the beautiful, fascinating, and wonderful things about the now. I hope that I and each of us will be able to appreciate the now instead of constantly looking back at the then and making ourselves unhappy in the process. Happiness now comes from enjoying the now, and not living in the past.
This interview was very interesting, even from a non-fan point of view. As with the rock bottom quote, many of the subject they discuss can be applied to our life today. This video is well worth the time it takes to watch it.
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