The Therapist Returns

Wow. I'm sorry that I've been out of touch so long, but I have been conducting some serious undercover research on one of the new symptoms of MOLD. My findings have been somewhat disturbing.
It started when I received a copy of one of my regular patients essays. A regular high school book essay, or so it appeared. But this particular essay seemed to demonstrate a rather flawed view of reality. It was on a book called The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. An excellent piece of literature, but complete fiction. This essay recognized it as fiction, which is odd for a victim of MOLD, but it also recognized it as a deliberate literary distortion. Which is to say, the patient read the book and not only identified the story as "make-believe", but realized that the author had purposefully twisted an otherwise believable story to make a point! AND THEN THEY IDENTIFIED WHAT THE POINT WAS!!!
It was incredible. Throughout my career, I had never seen anything like it. Usually those with MOLD read commercial fiction, books that are blatantly fantastic, and then identify those stories as fact. Or at least, they treat them as seriously as if they were fact. I had never encountered an example of what would happen if a MOLD patient actually read something that was more 'realistic' than not.
And so I have been conducting secret research on the phenomena of what happens when a victim of MOLD encounters a work of literary fiction. It was not easy. It involved more essays, numerous interviews, elevator shafts, the infernal No Child Left Behind Act, eccentric English professors, secret documents, an unpleasant brush with the FBI, an annoying reporter from the New York Times, and hidden recording devices. The results have been amazing. I have discovered that the mind of a MOLDy individual processes literary fiction differently than a 'normal' individual. It would seem that the mind of a MOLD patient is preset to understand the allusions, analogies, and obscure intentions of the authors of novels like Life of Pi. In other words, they actually know what the author is really saying, as versus what is actually written in the pages of the book. I have discovered that MOLDy people can do instinctively what science has dubbed impossible.

They can crack the infamous literary code.

This discovery could revolutionize the study of MOLD as we know it.
Keep standing by.

Darkings

Wow, I'm finally part of MOLD4EVR! Let me express my honor and gratitude of being a part of this community of MOLDY bloggers, etc., and how excited I am, etc., and I hope that the future of this blog will be brighter than it already is, etc., etc. *Bows deeply* :)

Now...to the subject of darkings (if you've read Trickster's Queen by Tamora Pierce). Personally, they intrigue me, those imaginative little drops of blood and magic combined (might sound *gross* but that's how it is). I mean...they just sound cute. And fun. Like little tiny round puppies that talk to you.

And also... darkings, I've heard, make really great accessories (the word *necklace* ring a bell?).... ;)

Ella Enchanted

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine is a wonderful tale about an obedient girl. Or, more so, a tale about a fiercely independent girl forced to be obedient due to a curse placed upon her by the fairy, Lucinda. When Ella is but a babe Lucinda bestows her with the "gift" of obedience that enforces even the simplest of commands. As Ella grows older she resents her curse and is constantly finding ways to bend orders to her will. When Ella is about 14 years old her mother dies leaving her heartbroken, if not for Prince Char. Even through her sadness he entrances her, and vs. versa.

Enter evil step family.

Well, not quite. They aren't family yet but they will be. The evil mother convinces Ella's father that she must be sent to finishing school to improve her oafishness. Her Father willingly agrees. When Ella arrives at the school she becomes finished (through direct orders) and miserable. So she runs away in an attempt to find Lucinda and beg her to remove the curse. On her way she runs into Char (almost literally) who with his guard escorts her to a Giant Wedding where she believes she will find Lucinda. This she does, but with mysterious consequences. Now what happens next, only Ella can determine.

Ella Enchanted is my favorite retelling of Cinderella. Many have read it, many have loved it, and I highly recommend it to fans of fairy tales, and kick butt heroines.