Too often in
life reality doesn’t live up to our expectations. Such was not the case Friday night when I
finally met Wally Lamb. It was everything I had hoped for and more. He was
funny kind generous and completely down-to-earth.
Wally spoke
at the Lyme Congregational Church at an event celebrating the Lyme Public
Library’s centennial anniversary. He read from his new book We are Water which is scheduled for
publication in November 2013. For over an hour he held the audience of almost
200 people spellbound. There was no
rustling, no murmuring. You could hear a
pin drop. After the reading he generously answered questions, told funny
stories and signed books for another hour or more.
I had wanted
to meet Wally since I read his first two novels She's Come Undone and I Know
This Much is True and heard him speak at the Connecticut Library
Association conference many years ago.
His books and his characters affect me in a way that few others do. Part
of it is that his books are set here in southeastern Connecticut. But I think also it's because his characters
are so human. Often at our book club meetings someone makes the comment “I
didn't like this book because I hated the characters.” I often feel the same way. It's hard for me
to like a book if I can't identify with the characters. Wally's characters are flawed and sometimes
damaged. They don't always act wisely.
They sometimes do stupid, destructive things. But in Wally's hands their humanity comes
through, and I end up rooting for them and feeling for them. It was the same with Friday's reading. It was
heartbreaking but punctuated with moments of humor. I can't wait for We are Water to be published.
Another
reason I admire Wally so much is his work in the writing program with the women
at the York Correctional Institute. Most
of us hope we can make a difference in the world or at least our little corner
of it. Wally does that. He, along with other volunteers including
Library Board member Susan Cole, help the women acquire self-awareness; help instill
self-confidence, and a sense of achievement and self-worth. He has helped them publish two books of their
writing, Couldn’t Keep it to Myself: Testimonies from Our Imprisoned Sisters
and I’ll Fly Away: Further Testimonies
from the Women of York Prison. If you haven’t read them, they will open your
eyes. Yes the women are prisoners and were convicted of crimes. But most of them have endured a level of horror and violence in their lives that most of
us cannot even comprehend. Many of them will never leave the prison. But of those who have been released and who
spent meaningful time in the writers program, not one has returned to date. Wally’s commitment and dedication to the
women and the writing program over the last 15 years is remarkable considering
the demands of his own career and accompanying fame.
I told Wally
that meeting him is one of the highlights of my 27+ years at the Lyme
Library. I meant it. Sometimes life does not disappoint.
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