Dec 1

Dec 1 Episode #87: Silver Linings

Grace and Alvina talk about times in their lives when negatives turned into positives, and where they've been able to find the silver lining. The Book Friends are discussing making some changes to this podcast. They would love your listener feedback and suggestions! Please fill out this survey if you have a moment and let them know what you think. It would be greatly appreciated.

“How have you been?”

Alvina has been working hard to finish up some editing before she takes the week after Thanksgiving off. She is currently working on Emily X.R. Pan’s second novel. (She is the author of “The Astonishing Color of After”, a stunning novel about grief, love, and family.) It’s a busy time of year in publishing right now as there is a rush of submissions and book acquisitions before the end of the year.

Grace has been busy getting her new website completed. Please check it out here! She is also working on promoting her Where the Mountain Meets the Moon 2021 calendar (it can be exclusively purchased from the Eric Carle Museum!), getting her Etsy page running, and just wanting to make sure she’s a part of everybody’s holiday shopping. After the election, she is finding it easier to concentrate and self-advocate for herself. There’s a general feeling in the air that if you work hard, good things will come of it.

WTMMTM calendar for sale at the Eric Carle Museum shop!

Shop Grace Lin’s Etsy page for prints and more!

Silver Linings

The Book Friends thought it was a good time to talk about silver linings especially within this very turbulent year. When bad things or negative things happen in our lives, we either find silver linings or that they actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Alvina thinks about this in terms of relationships. She would never have met Stephen if she hadn’t experienced the different relationships and break-ups of her past. While of course she would never wish the pandemic on anyone, the silver lining of it all is that she was able to work remotely and live in Burlington with Stephen.

For Grace, she often thinks about sweet moments had with her daughter. In the moment, she feels how amazing they are, but then she traces it back to Robert’s death. “Robert had to die to get me here in this moment". This reminds Grace and Alvina about the old Chinese fable about the farmer and his horse.

The story is about interpreting a situation as either good luck or bad luck. There is no way to know what it is. One thing always leads to another. If that hadn’t happened, then maybe this wouldn’t have happened. There is never a straight line or a direct correlation between bad things happening and good things.

Grace is reminded of her first job after art school. She was determined to be an illustrator but was having trouble getting work. She started a desk job that paid the bills but she really disliked. Eventually she was laid off but it jump started her ambitions again to really put herself out there and get her illustrations notice. In this case, being laid off was a blessing in disguise as it can be for many. Otherwise, she may not have had the courage to leave the job herself. After Robert died, she became better at prioritizing herself and not trying so hard to meet everyone’s expectations…an example of how one positive that came from such an enormous negative. Alvina thinks about Greg’s death as well. She now knows that she can truly get through anything.

Grace was also reminded of the book by Gretchen Rubin “The Four Tendencies” when thinking about those times of trying to meet everyone’s expectations. Are you an upholder, a questioner, an obligers, or a rebel?

Alvina thinks about silver linings in the year we have had as a nation. The protests may have specifically lead to Biden choosing a woman of color for VP. When something terrible happens, we all have to work together to make something positive come out of it.

“What are you grateful for?”

Alvina is grateful for comfort TV! She’s been watching The Great British Baking Show, Grand Designs, and Hallmark movies because Stephen’s Dad loves them.

Grace is grateful for her savings! She hasn’t been able to do school visits since the pandemic and that was a significant amount of her income. She’s also grateful for her daughter’s creativity when things just don’t go as planned or they have to start new traditions. They recently held their 2nd annual chicken run in place of a turkey trot for Thanksgiving!