A couple of times during the course of the pandemic, I talked about the art I was looking forward to seeing. While there was a lot of anxiety in those early days, there was a lot of time for reflection. People took up new hobbies and new ways to express themselves. To me, it felt like there was going to be a renaissance of art, writing, and music. I know that when days felt grim, I was relieved to pour my energy into a creative outlet. Even if it meant making goofy videos on the internet.
One of those people I was talking about was Nikki Erlick, author of The Measure. The pandemic allowed her to finish her Instant New York Times Bestselling book since she got laid off from being a travel writer. Before she put all her energy into her novel, she felt a lot of despair and failure. Being on the other side, she is trying to reframe her outlook when it comes to setbacks. In hindsight, those setbacks can help direct us to our next big adventure.
Our First Book Club
We talked to Nikki on our podcast this week about her process of writing The Measure and about some of the themes in the book itself. The Measure follows eight characters and their intertwined journey as they contemplate the length of their life and how they live it. On one particular day, a box appears on the doorstep of every person over the age of 22. Inside the box is a string and it’s quickly decided the length of the string is the length of your life. People are suddenly faced with the question: Do I want to know how long I will live?
In our first-ever Holderness Family Book Club, we have Nikki answer your questions as well as ones we had about the novel. There are no big spoilers in this podcast so feel free to listen if you haven’t started the book yet. And in true book club fashion, Penn represented the member who didn’t read the book but came for the wine. Listen to our podcast below and tell us what questions we missed! Also, tell us what book we should read together next!
