Reading with Joy — Chapter Twelve

“...suddenly she knew.
She knew!
Love.
That was what she had that IT did not have.”

— A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Cheers to us! We’ve made it to the final chapter of our summer of Reading with Joy. To celebrate, I have a special treat: a conversation with Madeleine’s own lovely granddaughter, Charlotte Jones Voiklis. I’ve always had the feeling that Madeleine’s soul was written in A Wrinkle in Time. Hearing Charlotte’s perspective confirmed that Meg’s story is her own “song of praise to life”—a manifesto reminding us that love is a light to guide us even when all other lights go out.

Meg begins this final chapter still angry and fearful, which doesn’t seem very promising. But her tears stop as abruptly as they started as she is healed body and soul and sees clearly that only she has the ability to save Charles Wallace from Camazotz. Even though no one—not her father, not her guardian angels, not Calvin—can come with her, she does not go alone or helpless. Her power against IT is not anger, or cleverness, or physical strength— IT knows all about those things. What IT cannot comprehend is the kind of self-sacrificing love which would walk in vulnerability despite great danger for the sake of another.

Charlotte and I had a wonderful time talking about the wonderful ways that God has chosen the foolish and the weak things of the world to confound the mighty, so that love in all its vulnerability does more to fight against the darkness than all the “power” in the world. I hope you have as much fun listening to it as I did recording it.

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



Buy on Amazon


























Becoming Madeleine: A Biography of the Author of A Wrinkle in Time by Her Granddaughters

By Voiklis, Charlotte Jones, Roy, Léna







Today’s Guest: Charlotte Jones Voiklis

Charlotte Jones Voiklis is Madeleine L’Engle’s granddaughter and executor of her estate. She wrote a biography, Becoming Madeleine, for middle grade readers with her sister, Léna Roy, that came out in February 2018. She wrote the afterword to the 50th Anniversary edition of A Wrinkle in Time, and and intoduction to The Moment of Tenderness, that comes out in April 2020. has also written and spoken of her grandmother’s work to a variety of audiences. With a PhD in Comparative Literature, Charlotte’s work experience includes teaching, fundraising, communications, and grant making. She is also a volunteer mediator in the New York City court system. You can follow her on Twitter @charlottejv or on Instagram @cjvoiklis.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONMeg finally understands in this chapter that love is more about what you do than what you feel. How does her love for Charles Wallace make her the best candidate to rescue him from Camazotz? How does our delight in each other make us better warriors against the darkness than worldly power?ANNOUNCEMENTThank you for listening in, friends. It has been such a joy to host this book club. The conversations each week, both with the guests on the show and in the comments on instagram and facebook, have consistently challenged, encouraged, and illuminated my understanding. A quick note of update: Speaking with Joy will be back with its ordinary episodes in October. I'm on the cusp of a great deal of change in my life, as I approach the end of my Phd. I don't know if I will be able to continue the podcast next year, but what I do know is that I want to make this year's episode a veritable feast of compelling ideas, beautiful art, and good conversation partners. I've already recorded a number of episodes, and, in addition to my "classic" format episodes, have been reaching out to some of my favourite scholars, artists, and thinkers to do interviews. I hope you love the series, and that at least one episode speaks especially to your heart and mind.All this to say, I'll be on a short break in September, but am excited to kick off the new season in October. Be well till then, and I'll see you all soon!