I love Harry Potter and grew up with them too. I'm excited my seven year old daughter loves the books and movies now too, though we've stopped after the first three for now. I keep telling her, I had to wait for the books and movies to come out, so I was old enough for how scary they got. I probably won't make her wait until 13 to read book 4 together, but a little while longer at least. The first three books we read together first and now the audiobooks are on a loop at our house.
I read these books so much, I feel like I pressed the memory of my younger self into the pages; I can remember where I was when I first read each one. When book seven came out, I was a teenager and my dad needed surgery for a brain tumor. I needed an escape from the scary realities of my life and I finished book seven in two days. It was such a comfort to have Harry, Ron, and Hermione with me in a hard time. The surgery wasn't as successful as we'd hoped and my dad died slowly over four years. I was away at college for engineering and thought I was going to fail everything (Hermione's boggart in book three). I didn't have mental space to read new books for fun during the school terms (I minored in English to give myself permission to read *some* books, for my sanity and mental health), but I could put on the Harry Potter audiobooks on a walk to class (on my iPod, each track patiently uploaded, we didn't have smartphones like today!) and have the connection and comfort and encouragement of Harry Potter.
We recently had the opportunity to take our family to London for a work trip for my husband. We went to the Harry Potter movie studio tour, and it was a highlight for all of us. It made me realize that Harry Potter has been part of my life for twenty-five years now. I'm so grateful to J.K. Rowling for creating this magical world that's been such a warm companion in my life, in good times and in bad. We looked in the movie prop of the Mirror of Erised, my mom, my two children and I, and I told them, "This is what I'd see in the mirror. Exactly the life I have." ❤️
(At the studio tour, I saw a girl with a broken foot in a wheelchair have her friend help her out of the wheelchair so she could see herself standing in the Mirror of Erised. She said, "I have to, that's what I'd see." I almost teared up. Stories are powerful!)
Still waiting for my Hogwarts letter too! Loved the comparison of that 9/11 moment with the chamber of secrets moment. Can't wait until my kids are old enough that I can read this to them.
These are such beautiful memories, Kate! Thank you so much for sharing them. I love what you said about pressing the memory of your younger self into the pages of the books. Stories really are powerful, and I also appreciate the way they can carry us through difficult times. Then when we return to them, they hold those memories steady for us -- the good and the hard -- and can help us recognize how we've grown and changed since that time with compassion and love. I can't wait to share them with my kids when they are old enough, too! 💕
I love Harry Potter and grew up with them too. I'm excited my seven year old daughter loves the books and movies now too, though we've stopped after the first three for now. I keep telling her, I had to wait for the books and movies to come out, so I was old enough for how scary they got. I probably won't make her wait until 13 to read book 4 together, but a little while longer at least. The first three books we read together first and now the audiobooks are on a loop at our house.
I read these books so much, I feel like I pressed the memory of my younger self into the pages; I can remember where I was when I first read each one. When book seven came out, I was a teenager and my dad needed surgery for a brain tumor. I needed an escape from the scary realities of my life and I finished book seven in two days. It was such a comfort to have Harry, Ron, and Hermione with me in a hard time. The surgery wasn't as successful as we'd hoped and my dad died slowly over four years. I was away at college for engineering and thought I was going to fail everything (Hermione's boggart in book three). I didn't have mental space to read new books for fun during the school terms (I minored in English to give myself permission to read *some* books, for my sanity and mental health), but I could put on the Harry Potter audiobooks on a walk to class (on my iPod, each track patiently uploaded, we didn't have smartphones like today!) and have the connection and comfort and encouragement of Harry Potter.
We recently had the opportunity to take our family to London for a work trip for my husband. We went to the Harry Potter movie studio tour, and it was a highlight for all of us. It made me realize that Harry Potter has been part of my life for twenty-five years now. I'm so grateful to J.K. Rowling for creating this magical world that's been such a warm companion in my life, in good times and in bad. We looked in the movie prop of the Mirror of Erised, my mom, my two children and I, and I told them, "This is what I'd see in the mirror. Exactly the life I have." ❤️
(At the studio tour, I saw a girl with a broken foot in a wheelchair have her friend help her out of the wheelchair so she could see herself standing in the Mirror of Erised. She said, "I have to, that's what I'd see." I almost teared up. Stories are powerful!)
Still waiting for my Hogwarts letter too! Loved the comparison of that 9/11 moment with the chamber of secrets moment. Can't wait until my kids are old enough that I can read this to them.
*standing up applause* 🙌🏻 YES. AMEN.
These are such beautiful memories, Kate! Thank you so much for sharing them. I love what you said about pressing the memory of your younger self into the pages of the books. Stories really are powerful, and I also appreciate the way they can carry us through difficult times. Then when we return to them, they hold those memories steady for us -- the good and the hard -- and can help us recognize how we've grown and changed since that time with compassion and love. I can't wait to share them with my kids when they are old enough, too! 💕