Letters from Oxford - How This Middle-Aged Woman Got In

Go back briefly with me to the spring of 1992. Married for just over 9 months, I stood graduating with a bachelor’s degree that would be used mildly in its specificity, but broadly in its influence on my life and the education of my children. The plan was to pursue a master’s degree after Fletch finished dental school, but by then we were raising two little boys and hoping to have more.

The story gets complicated from here — deep dives into religiosity and an emphasis on playing by the rules of a narrow and extra-Biblical paradigm. For a decade, our lives were bound by what we were being told within that legalistic community, but there were nudges and gentle reminders and really loud wake-up calls that finally moved us out of the weird worlds of homeschool-only, big family, one-way-to-do-life Evangelicalism. Thank God.

I spent 25 years homeschooling our 8 to one extent or another, and I loved most of it. I mean, there were days I wanted to walk out the door and sit poolside with a margarita, but that’s indicative of the long range of any career.

And then the timing was right. Our youngest two (now 16 and 15) are in high school, and I have worked myself out of homeschooling. The potential for a new path suddenly opened up and here I am, at 52 years old, heading to graduate school in October.

I was accepted by the University of Oxford. It wasn’t out of the blue by any means, but it still stunned me the morning the email arrived and I spent that week tripping through my disbelief. My plan at this point in the journey is to record the next two years of this experience here, and I’d love for you to come along.

HOW IT STARTED

It started with a search for courses that could help me boost my experience in literary analysis and theory, which led me to Oxford’s Continuing Education offerings. As I read the site, I quickly realized that I could eventually apply to a master’s program there, but that I needed to make sure this was a school and department I really wanted to be a part of. Both my late brother and a dear friend who chairs the art department at a prestigious university encouraged me to think about where I wanted to be—a master’s program needs to fit you, the student, as much as you need to be a good fit for the program.

After four literature courses, I knew the Master of Studies in Literature and Arts was a program I was highly interested in and probably well-suited for.

How it’s going

Along the way, I’ve had cheerleaders. Don’t minimize the impact of friends and family who will be there to encourage you when the reading is overwhelming and the essay is due. In my case, I married a guy who told me that I’d given 30 years serving our family and now it’s my turn to follow my passion. He even told me I should consider moving away for the year if I needed to—lots of couples live apart to accomplish a short-term goal and he wanted me to be able to dive in unencumbered. I chose a two-year part-time program that requires me to be at the university several times a year, but I’ll be studying from home where I can stay close to a few high schoolers who still need their mom.

There’s a lot more to say about the process, from coursework to passing points/grades to applications and interviews. If you’re planning on applying to grad school as an older or returning student, I’m happy to share. In the meantime, I’m reading a wide variety of books, from those I don’t think I’ll have time for over the next two academic years to those I think might help me as a grad student. If you are a grad or doctoral student, drop me your hints in the comments, please!

Radcliffe Camera, Oxford - Oct 2006, wikicommons

Want to read Anna Karenina with me this summer? I’m offering a free online book club for anyone who would like to tackle Tolstoy. You can send me an email to join the group here.

Until next time,

Kendra

4 Books to Read After Little Women

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2019’s gorgeous retelling on film of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women has so many of us who grew up with the story of the March family giddy for her novels all over again. One long winter’s reading of Little Women satisfies us just as it did the first time, but if you are at the end of the book and hoping for more, you’re in good company.

4 Books to Read After Little Women

Little Men and Jo’s Boys, Louisa May Alcott

Thankfully, Louisa May Alcott had so many contemporary fans pressing her to keep writing about the Marches that she actually produced two more novels that followed their lives. I’m not sure if it’s because I have more sons than daughters or was the only girl in a family of boys, but I’ve actually enjoyed Little Men slightly (ever so slightly) more than Little Women.

Little Men continues the histories of the March sisters, and in particular follows the lives of Jo and her husband, Professor Bhaer. The Bhaers run Plumfield Estate School, an unconventional, hands-on, unschool sort of school environment, where the children are encouraged to be individuals and to better themselves. There is plenty of fun and nurturing (and weekly pillow fights!), and readers should feel satisfied to read the continuing events in the lives of their favorite characters.

Jo’s Boys follows suit and was actually published as a sequel to Little Men.

One of the most compelling reasons to read more of Alcott’s writings is that she brings an accurate historical perspective on the lives of women in the 19th Century. Any time we can wrap our heads around how a society was operating in the centuries before ours, we gain an understanding that transcends and lends insight into our own. How equal are women to men really in our world today? How do the attitudes about and opportunities afforded to women during eras that preceded our own show our progress, or lack thereof? Does it matter?

To that end, there are two more books that are excellent adjuncts to Alcott’s writing:

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

Another 19th Century female writer published in 1847 what became her most beloved novel. Jane Eyre follows the life of orphaned Jane from childhood to young adulthood, with twists and turns befitting a classic gothic novel of the Romantic and Victorian periods.

What seems to be a tale of woe at the outset becomes a triumphant account of a young life taking wing, and as such, Bronte was illustrating a female existence that would have been scandalous for its time.

If you read only one Bronte work in your lifetime, let it be the spirited Jane Eyre.

Frankenstein, Mary Shelley

Out of the 19th Century comes yet another female force, Mary Shelley. If you are tempted to equate a book called Frankenstein with the green monster of silly 20th Century movies and cereal boxes, please note that Shelley’s work is nothing resembling those renditions.

Frankenstein is far more about relationships (and yes, even romantic love), the balance of good and evil in the world, and the greater question of whether or not we should create or develop technology just because we can.

When both my oldest son and oldest daughter (now in their 20’s) told me individually that Frankenstein was their favorite high school read, I decided I needed to read it for myself. I am not a huge fan of science fiction, and on that association alone, I was skeptical that my kids could convince me I’d end up loving it as much as they did. I stand overwhelmingly corrected, and I can tell you that Frankenstein is not only one of my favorite novels, too, it has become an absolute joy for me to teach through the text with my high school students.

Little Women, Little Men, Jo’s Boys, Jane Eyre, Frankenstein—each is a testament to its brave and capable author, and all are worth a read in this century and centuries to come. I hope you’ll jump in and see for yourself!

If you’re interested in reading and studying any of these books with others, I teach live literature classes like Little Women, Jane Eyre, and Frankenstein, and I love to give a hand to learners around the world by doing so. Find out more about my courses here.

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How to Write Your Own Story, Part 5 of 5

We made it! Part 5 of our series on writing your own story. How are you doing getting yours written down?

5.

Patience. 

It took so much time for Lost & Found to be published, and I was terribly confused at times because I was absolutely sure that this was what God wanted me to write. In the beginning, there was interest by a publishing house but that fell through and I even lost what had been a once-enthusiastic agent. Really, God? What happened to that still, small voice I was so sure I had heard, urging me to write this story and communicate the passion I had to see others free from the trap of religious pursuit?

I had to be reminded, quite literally, that even though I couldn't see what was going on behind the scenes, and even though I could not see where this was all eventually going to go, I needed to keep going. God communicated this to me through friends who didn't even know why they were telling me to keep going, just that they knew they should.

In this time of waiting, of learning to be patient, work. Edit. Rewrite. Think about your reach and ministry opportunities. Tell your story to those who will listen.

And dare I say it? Build a platform. I don't love that word or even that concept because it feels very much like you have to be somebody and you have to put yourself out there, but in a way, you do. You aren’t writing this book so that no one will read it. You need to have a way that people can hear your story - that’s what the platform is for.

Rest. Write. Pray. Pursue. Repeat.

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Other Posts in This Series:

Part One: You have one audience.

Part Two: What God is laying on your heart is the most important thing to write.

Part Three: Grab every moment you can.

Part Four: Write down everything you remember.

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Begin to build your own Write Your Own Story notebook with free printables to help you as you get started.

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