Letters to the Earth

I first encountered Valerie Gribben at the Little Professor in Homewood, Alabama.  She attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham as an undergraduate, and so word got around that she was doing a book signing for her fantasy trilogy, newly collected in hardcover.  I found her to be delightfully charming in person, and she gladly signed a copy of  The Fairytale Trilogy for a friend, kareila .  Valerie published her first book when she was 17, and she wrote the other two en rout to medical school.  I asked her at the time what her next literary project was, and she didn't know if she'd have time to write anything new while becoming a doctor. 

I'm glad to say that I encountered her work again in today's New York Times, where she had written an Op-Ed: "Practicing Medicine Can Be Grimm Work."  I don't know if she'll write any more book-length works anytime soon, what with her medical career, but it's good that she's still writing!  I enjoyed the article -- take a look.  It's similar in concept to what Joseph Campbell said about myths providing templates to get through life.  She says she finds herself using fairy tales and their characters to understand the patients she sees, when her textbooks won't reveal motive and why.