Reading with Joy — Chapter Eleven

“...it is so difficult to explain things to you, small one. And I know now that it is not just because you are a child. The other two are as hard to reach into as you are. What can I tell you that will mean anything to you? Good helps us, the stars help us, perhaps what you would call light helps us, love helps us. Oh, my child, I cannot explain! This is something you just have to know or not know.”

— A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Welcome back to my summer book club! (Can you believe we only have two chapters left?) In chapter 11, the lovely Aunt Beast has taken charge of caring for Meg’s frightened heart and tired body—finding a name that is personal and loving (“aunt”), filling her with good food, and reminding her that her father and Calvin really do care for her, despite her fears.

This week I am joined by the best of friends and fancy candle purveyors, the one and only Elena Trueba. We talked about the strange contrast between losing control for conformity and giving it in trusting love, the journey from blindness to loving understanding (which may be so bright that it looks like darkness to those outside it), and the wonderful Christian mystics who reflect these ideas in their writing.

It’s not too late to join in!

This is how the book club works: I’ll post an episode per chapter each week on Monday, which you can listen to in preparation for discussion. Then, I’ll post discussion questions on this website, my instagram, my twitter, and my Facebook. (full disclosure: I think discussion tends to go best on Instagram and Facebook). Post your thoughts, comments, questions on these threads as a way to engage the text. I also encourage you to discuss the book in real life (or over Facetime, given our weird times!) with a real friend… it’s so much more fun! In that spirit, each week I’ll have a different guest discussing each chapter with me.

A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet)

By Madeleine L'Engle



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Today’s Guest: Elena Trueba

Elena Trueba is a writer and editor based in Washington, D.C. She has a Master’s in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, where she studied religious fundamentalism, and is currently at work on a book about the women of the Stay-At-Home-Daughter movement. You can follow Elena on Twitter, where she mostly tweets pictures of small and delightful animals, @elena_trueba .

DISCUSSION QUESTION: Aunt Beast’s steady care washes away layers of coldness, anger, and fear from Meg with love and gentleness. How does treating Meg as an individual help her to recover her ability to perceive? What are some ways that you have felt similarly cared for?