One of the things I love is getting a view of “the real” person whose artistic work I admire. Usually, I’m already a fan when I seek out or happen upon information about their real lives. In this case I was on the fence before I read this memoir taking us inside bestselling author Nicholas Sparks, but am now a real fan planning to read more of his fiction.
The person in question is Nicholas Sparks, and the memoir is Three Weeks with My Brother. The book describes the round-the-world tour these brothers took together visiting many sacred historical sites, and at the same time tells the story of their lives (particularly that of Nicholas).
I’ll be completely transparent—I had an instinctive dislike for this young, dashing, massively successful author. His stories are about love (in its many forms), and so are categorized in the romance genre. Romance is a genre dominated by hardworking women authors. While perhaps I should admire Mr. Sparks success as a minority in the genre, I quite frankly resented his place. (My attitude was bad and unfair, but it’s honest.) I have seen movies made from Mr. Sparks’ novels, and while moving, have often found them simplistic—adding to my resentment of his massive success.
What I learned through reading Three Weeks with My Brother, is that Nicholas (and his brother) have experienced an enormous amount of loss in their relatively young lives. I now understand and respect that Mr. Sparks has first-hand knowledge with love and loss that rightly make his stories heartfelt, moving, and colored with a deep understanding of the fragility of life.
For anyone who has avoided Mr. Sparks for reasons like my own, I suggest reading this memoir first, then reading his fiction. I believe the former provides a foundation of trust for the latter.
So glad that preformed opinions/judgments can be changed with greater exposure! There’s hope for all of us yet!
Happy Reading!