One day my friend Sandy phoned and said, “Lorene, do you think there are similarities between the La–La Land chapter in your book and Hollywood’s movie La La Land (2016 Movie)? Maybe there is a blog in that answer.” “I don’t know,” I said. “I haven’t seen the movie yet.” Meanwhile, my inside voice said, Dangit, now that the question has been asked I won’t be able to rest until I know if there is any synchronicity between the two. Arrrgh! It just had to be a musical didn’t it! At the same time my outside voice I said, “That’s a good question Sandy. I’ll go see it tomorrow and get back to you.”

As I drove to the theatre the next day I wondered how a musical could possibly portray the unimaginable relationship part of my La-La Land. I figured they could probably portray parts of it with right storyline and songs but the unimaginable feelings and desperation that comes with wanting to believe so badly, well, I wasn’t sure how they were going to swing that. It turns out the movie didn’t really do either particularly well.

Now, before all you Hollywood fans go nuts on me, I am not saying it was not a pleasant movie for it was…if you like star crossed love stories from another time.

There was the normal attraction, an intense early relationship full of love and happiness — to me mostly portrayed by the singing and dancing in the streets instead of the more typically presented bedroom scenes which was kind of nice — and of course the required breakup but we still care for each other ending. It was a pleasant movie and easy to sit through. It did not however, move me in any way. It was like the difference between reading a romance novel and say, a Stephen King novel. I have to push my brain to think about (and sometimes can’t imagine no matter how hard I try) what King is writing about whereas it isn’t really that difficult to imagine the romance stuff. Mostly because the latter is not meant to be hard. So too it was with the movie La La Land. While I might have had to have a few glasses of wine and warn all the dog owners in the neighbourhood to keep their pets inside so they wouldn’t start howling, I could imagine (okay…maybe more than a few) singing and dancing under the stars.

At first I thought that was the end of it, there was nothing to blog about, at least as far as my and Hollywood’s imagination went. Of course the universe does what the universe does and had a little surprise waiting for me.

I heard about another Hollywood movie called The Shack. It is based on the novel written by Canadian author William P. Young. While I had not heard much buzz about it, for some reason I felt the need to see this film. I tried ignoring the feeling because I am not much of a movie goer, but when that I have to do this feeling wouldn’t go away, I gave in and headed back to the theatre.

While I don’t profess to be an expert on movie reviews, I do know when I see something important and I witnessed something impressive that afternoon. How do I know that? Well, not to give too much of the storyline away and spoil it for you, partway into the film I felt what I can only describe as a physical blow to my chest. Tears came to my eyes and it took all of my strength to not jump up and scream, “They get it! They understand my La-La Land!”

When I got home I opened FKM and re-read Chapter 8. Yup, I said to myself, their portrayal has presentation differences but conceptually it is the same! While I do not have the same visual communications as this author, Chapter 9 and The Red Phone covers that difference. Wow! That makes me soooo happy!

You see when I buried my child my mind no longer had the same kind of conditioned restrictions life tends to put in place over time. Like a child, I could visualize an imaginary place where Kalei’s spirit, God and whatever physical components were needed to make that world seem real. I could have conversations with anyone and at times, big arguments or long thoughtful discussions. It was also the place where I could say and be whatever I wanted (or maybe needed is the right word) to be without consequence in my regular universe. The Shack comes closer to my La La Land and Red Phone place than any work I have read or seen.

You must go and see The Shack or read the book! Not only will you gain a greater understanding of the capacity of the human mind but if you are open to it, you will gain insight into the grieving world (conscious or otherwise) of those struggling with the early days of unimaginable death. Someday you might find you need that knowledge to You never know, someday that knowledge may help you help someone you love.