second to the right...

This afternoon I finished reading Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat Pray Love". It took me three months to get through - but I finally did it. For many reasons, I wasn't a fan of the #1 New York Times Bestseller (I can get into that later if you want...) She had some great ideas, I liked some of the things that she quotes about happiness, I liked Indonesia, but overall I couldn't find a way to warm up to her as a person.

In any case, I finished it. 

Now I am starting to read another book - one of my favorite stories of all time. Once when I was little and got sick my dad stayed home from work and I made him watch this movie with me - five times in a row. (Yup, that's the kind of dad he is - the kind who will sit with his six year old and watch the same movie over and over and over again. Pretty cool, huh?) I have always been meaning to read the story, but have never gotten around to it. Finally, when I walked into Anthropologie (a store which I absolutely love) and saw their beautiful leather bound books, I couldn't resist it. I bought the gorgeous book - purple and printed with green pirate ships along with yellow moons and stars. (It was a birthday present for myself.)

Peter Pan has always been a magical story - which is what Neverland is, after all, a magical world for magical stories to take place. I have only gotten through the forward of the book thus far (I started it about 5 minutes before I decided to write this post), but I am already hooked. (I know, I know, who reads the forwards? Only nerds. Well, I'm one of those nerds. I read every forward in every book. I can't help it! It is all a part of the story.) The past year or so, I have felt kind of lost; like I don't really know my place in the world or what I'm supposed to do after graduating college (June 2011, an ever-looming, ever-present thought weighing on my mind). The forward to this publication of the story moved me to tears... okay, not tears maybe, but my eyes were a little damp. 

Here is part of the intro so that it can capture your heart just as the one and a half pages I've read so far have captured mine. Maybe it will inspire you to go and read one of those stories that meant so much to you when you were a little kid, just like I was inspired to read this one. And don't worry, I'm sure you will see many more quotes from Peter Pan as I continue my adventure through Neverland.

Sadly, like Peter himself, most of our childhood memories begin to fade and drift off as we get older. The newspapers remind us daily of all the reasons why being a "responsible adult" seems to be our only aspiration in life. Thankfully, stories like the one you are about to embark upon remind us of what is important. And, even if you can no longer remember how to fly to Neverland, Peter Pan will always come to rescue you if you want him. All you have to do is believe ... Go on! Get going! You already know the way - Second to the right, and straight on till morning, you can't miss it! - Tony DiTerlizzi, Peter Pan