Synchronicity in the Books

Perhaps, gradually, I’ll begin unfolding the story of synchronicity that’s been weaving in and out of my life over the past few years. You can find themes and symbols in my work that speak to this: birds (especially crows), strings (especially red), stones as eggs, fertility, otherworldliness, and enchantment. If you don’t know me personally go take a look and tell me, what did you find? Can you decipher any of these secrets I’ve embedded into the work?

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I’m now back in Maine, a place that stole my heart a few years ago, and I’m determined to make a permanent go of it this time around. Each time I drive back or forth from here, I make a stop at the Traveler Restaurant near the Connecticut-Massachusetts border. I adore their motto of “three free books with every meal”. I’m sure I’ve shared this phrase with friends a hundred times or more. Even though many of the books are dated or highly specialized for what I can only imagine is a small niche of readers, it’s still a delight to sift through spines on wooden shelves while waiting for your order to come out from the kitchen.

On my last visit, I came across a poetry book, Impulse to Fly, by Almitra David. Also, oddly enough, I came across a children’s book on the Sunderbans: a region crossing over West Bengal, India and Bangladesh and home of the Royal Bengal tiger. I’d lived in West Bengal off and on since 2015 without ever making the connection that this was the namesake of my old Ohio NFL team, the Cincinnati Bengals! Just two days earlier I tried to explain this to my mother when I left behind village handicraft toys of Bengal tigers for my young nieces and nephews, but there was a bit too much information for her to retain. I picked up the book and put it in the mail so the kids could learn about this region and its tigers whenever they visited her home to play.

But then the real synchronicity kicked in. My marriage dissolved two years ago and at the time I decided to keep my name. I didn’t want to go back to my maiden name, nor did I want to bother with changing passports and bank accounts and all of those other things that could be problematic while I was moving back and forth across the globe. Even before the dissolution I’ve had two different surnames in my mind, each one inspired by a different grandmother as a way to celebrate matriarchs and maintain a family connection.

When I saw one of these surnames on a book, it caught my eye. I picked it up and read the first few sentences: a woman driving across the country: the word “Cleveland” jumped out further down the page. It was enough to pique my interest so I added it to the stack. As I sat down to read a few chapters, I realized that the connection was even stronger than I imagined. In the story, she was alone after losing a husband, started driving without a destination in mind, and intuitively picked a spot to make her new home. The main character introduced herself to a real estate agent and shared her full name– one of the other grandmother which I had also considered taking as my own.

Tears popped into my eyes immediately. It was one of those moments where it seemed as if the universe was standing behind me, tapping my shoulder saying, “Hey…I’m talking to you.” What exactly it was telling me, I’m not sure; but I’m open and I’m listening and perhaps that’s the most important thing.

Come back and keep reading. If something progresses, I’ll tell you all about it here.