Bibliotherapy: Feeing Nostalgic For Your Youth.

Symptom: Feeling Nostalgic for Your Youth

Cure: Coming of Age Novels

Maybe it’s because its I’ve recently celebrated another birthday or maybe its because of Spring and lighter days when anything feels possible, that I find myself remembering my youth and formative years  Recalling those excruciating and wonderful moments of childhood and teenage years is an inevitable part of getting older,  Nostalgia is normal and lovely, but it can also shade the reality and awkwardness of the passage to adulthood.

If you sometimes long to be a child again, to be care free and without responsibility; if you yearn for the endless days of childhood and dream of having that first kiss or crush all over again, then might I suggest you turn to these three wonderful books.  Each will remind you how difficult growing up can be but will give you the necessary nostalgia hit to help you manage another day as an adult.

The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy

Sally Jay Gorce is 21, she is in 1950’s Paris and she is intent on having a good time.  She loses things and people, she gets drunk on Champagne cocktails, she has pink hair and she swans around Paris during the day in an evening gown. There is something immensely likeable about Sally Jay.  She is Bridgette Jones and Carrie Bradshaw rolled into one.  She is misguided and naive, but maintains a mostly cheerful outlook throughout.  We see her morph from dizzy immaturity to a young woman who by the end shows signs of perception and even wisdom.  A good reminder that there is hope for us all!

I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith

17 year old Cassandra lives with her rather eccentric family in a beautiful but tumbling down castle.  The family is struggling to make ends meet and Cassandra is struggling to see her way out of this until the the arrival of two prosperous half American brothers who are of immediate interest to Cassandra and her older more beautiful sister Rose. Cassandra documents the ups and downs and trials and tribulations meticulously in her diary.  She Cassandra has all the akward and timid traits of so many teenage girls. and reveals much of herself through her writings.  It is at times painful to watch her gaucheness through her revelations and actions.  Overall though it is a complete joy to be reminded of the mixed fortunes known to all teenage girls.

Mariana by Monica Dickens

This is the story of Mariana and her journey from a young girl living in a small flat in Kensington, spending idyllic summers in Somerset to a mature young woman married and living in an England which is at war.

“Where was this somebody that was supposed to exist for everybody? She was nineteen and it felt wrong not to be in love”

We watch and on occasion cringe as Mariana navigates her way through youth and adolescence, witnessing her insecurities and agonising moments of embarrassment. The time she spent at Drama School in her bid to be on the stage is particularly desperate.  This is a joy to read and will transport you back to those moments of utter embarrassment that the teenage years bring whilst reminding you of the unadulterated enthusiasm you felt for life.

You can read my other reading cures here.