What’s Your Story

Recently Netflix and I had a date night, and I got to choose the movie. I choose The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It’s a story set in England on the Island of Guernsey in the years following WWII. A young successful writer, Juliet Ashton, yearns to write something more meaningful than her highly popular comedic articles written under her pen name, Izzy Bickerstuff. An opportunity arises when she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams, a resident of Guernsey and a member of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

I’ve watched this movie a few times. It’s one of my favorites for several reasons. I love that the main characters Juliet and Dawsey, first connected because of their shared love of books. I’ve always loved to read. One of my fondest memories is reading in a hammock that was strung between two trees that bordered a brook which ran across my parent’s rural property in Maine. There’s nothing quite like reading with the sounds of nature as your background music.

In my opinion, this movie has everything… romance, heartache, a little history, and a cast of characters, each with their own story to tell. This is another reason why I love this movie. We often look at others and instantly form an opinion about them without ever knowing their true stories. This was made evident to me when I attended a memorial (before Covid19) of a neighbor that I lived next to for over 30 years. I thought we knew each other well. Our kids went to school together, played together and we shared in neighborhood get-togethers. But I learned so much about this man and his life’s story while watching a video put together by his loving family. It made me think of the many people, including my parents and grandparents, who have been in my life and all the questions that I didn’t ask them. Each of us has a story. Each of us comes with a history that has helped shape who we are today. I hope as I go forward, I remember to listen more heartfully to the stories of all those I meet along the way.