On today’s Raw Reading, Alida Winternheimer reads from her current work-in-progress, working title, Playing with the Wind.

Playing with the Wind is a historical novel set in 1920s and 1930s Minnesota. After watching the video clip, read the author’s reflections on this particular text.

Raw Reading

Reflection

In this scene, Edie has had a bad-mom moment and is trying to make things right with Sparrow. They happened into a toy store and Sparrow had a tantrum over a rocking horse. The thing is, Edie’s best friend and Sparrow’s biological mother, has just died and they’re both in mourning. The reader will know this when encountering this chapter and therefore understand that the tantrum isn’t really about the horse. Edie’s reaction isn’t really about the tantrum. 

And here, when Edie, feeling terrible about everything, comes home with the rocking horse—which was a significant expense for someone just trying to make ends meet—Sparrow’s reaction isn’t what she expected. 

She puts Sparrow on the horse and here the chapter ends with the connection they both so long for being unattainable in their state of grief.

I hope that the feelings I’m aiming to convey come across to the reader, that she feels some of what these characters feel and also really feels for them in this moment of mutual longing.

The ogre on the other side of the wall? That’s Mrs. Dubrowski, of course.