A year in the Life of J.K. Rowling

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Did anybody see this documentary yesterday? It was interesting.

I can see myself in her--she's very smart, introverted, and yet forceful. She's gone through severe depression and has come out the other side. When she hit rock bottom, she said to herself, well, I have nowhere to go but up. I want to be a writer, so I'm going to write a book!

Why didn't I think of that? u

The information about her family was unknown to me (not being THAT much of a fangirl). Her father was a right bastard, and it's apparent his behavior is the model for the abuse Harry suffered. She lost her beloved mother to multiple sclerosis, and the theme of mother love infuses the books.

She also talked about why she didn't kill Harry off at the end of the books. She said she thought a lot about people coming home from war and rebuilding their lives; how rebuilding your life after a disaster is much harder and takes much more courage. Harry is a survivor, and he came back from the war, and rebuilt his own life, as well as the entire wizard community.

Now, she's concentrating on her own family life, a victory for her. We're going to see more books from her, too. Maybe not HP books, and possibly not as good, either, but more mature, certainly. And just more. When asked, "Why do you write?" she responded, "I love it. And I need it."