'When a book comes and says: Write Me'

 

“A book comes and says, 'Write me.' My job is to try to serve it to the best of my ability, which is never good enough, but all I can do is listen to it, do what it tells me and collaborate.” – Madeleine L'Engle

 

Born in New York City on Nov. 28, 1918 L’Engle is best known for her Newbery Medal-winning A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels: A Wind in the Door and the National Book Award-winning A Swiftly Tilting Planet.  Her works reflect both her Christian faith and her strong interest in modern science 

 

L'Engle wrote her first story at age 5 and began keeping a journal at age 8, but despite writing frequently, she had little financial success and decided to give up writing as a career at age 40.  But her family encouraged her to keep going and she penned A Wrinkle in Time while on a family camping excursion.  The book was rejected 30 times before publisher John Farrar decided to give it a chance, and the rest is history . . . as old the saying goes. 

 

Once she made her breakthrough, L’Engle wrote dozens of successful books, earning multiple writing awards capped by  the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association, recognizing her lifetime body of work.  She died in 2007.

 

“We can't take any credit for our talents,” L’Engle said.  “It's how we use them that counts.”