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Poet James Richardson: Pessimists live in fear of their hope, optimists in fear of their fear.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a novel upon which I wanted to comment. However, Lauren Groff’s (2012) beautifully written Arcadia has changed that. Her book begins by taking her main character, nicknamed Bit, from his infancy to middle adolescence in a utopian society, Arcadia, in western New York around the 1960’s-1970’s. She describes his years and struggles afterwards when he lives in the city. She ends with his return to Arcadia in his middle age, in a time a little later than the present day. Although not a single themed book, I found the dominant theme to be the tension between security and threat.

Bit was born to parents who helped established what was supposed to be a communal safe haven, Arcadia. He experiences both safety and danger from the adults around him, the land within Arcadia, and the Grimm fairy tales he reads voraciously. He witnesses the long erosion and finally fall of Arcadia itself from the influx of many other, less than idealistic new members who have conflicting needs that they want to have met by the commune. Also, there is the increasingly obvious self-indulgence of spiritual leader. Regretfully, Bit and his parents leave for the city.

In his middle years Bit returns to the now empty Arcadia with his daughter to be with his mother in her dying. Various Amish people and former Arcadians come in and out to offer aid and comfort. The Arcadian-based relationships are the most meaningful he has made in his life. Arcadia also is offering refuge from a world-wide pandemic that is raging outside.

Through his memories of  the Arcadia that was and though his experiences in the present day Arcadia, he finds some peace. He concludes that possibilities for threat and security are always present. He finds his well-being in the appreciation in the times of satisfaction, even though they are fleeting. As Groff said in the last paragraphs, “He will wait for the hushed spaces in life….Pay attention….Not to the grand gesture, but to the passing breath” (p. 289).

I will look forward to reading more from this author.  www.finebergpsychotherapy.com

A McGill University study gave evidence that regular family dinners helped protect teens from the negative psycholological impact of cyberbullying. ( In Brief. Monitor on Psychology, 2014, 45(10), p. 17). http://www.finebergpsychotherapy.com

Gabriel Garcia Marquez: The life of a person is not what happened, but what he remembers and how he remembers it.

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Billie Holiday: Sometimes it’s worse to win a fight than to lose.

Cyberbullies may or may not be bullies outside the internet world. Anonymity and approval from online groups can support their behavior. If you are a victim, don’t engage and report abusive messages to the online administrator and the police. Talk to supportive others about it. (Svoboda, E (2014). Scientific American Mind, 25(6), 46-53) http://www.finebergpsychotherapy.com

Martin Luther King Jr.: The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.

The number one brain tonic is physical activity. (Mind, Mood, & Memory, 2015, 11(4), p. 1)- finebergpsychotherapy.com

Time magazine (March 16, 2015, 24) offered 5 signs that might indicate that a friend needs help:1) Changes in behavior, 2) Changes in mood, 3) Withdrawal from others, 4) Indifference to appearance, and 5) Acts overwhelmed. http://www.finebergpsychotherapy.com

Learning a foreign language might be especially effective in preserving cognition in older age. Fluency isn’t necessary; regular practice and review is enough. (Massachusetts General Hospital newsletter, 2015, March, p. 5) www,.finebergpsychotherapy.com