“I’m young and happy. I’ll never die. I’m skimming across the surface of my own history, moving fast, riding the melt beneath the blades, doing loops and spins,when I take a high leap into the dark and come down thirty years later, I realize it is as Tim trying to save Timmy's life with a story.”
O’Brien explains how memory and storytelling are comforts for times of mourning and how they have equipped him to deal with the painful past. In this extended metaphor, he considers how his need to tell stories evolved through daydreams of Linda. Like Sarah had mentioned earlier, storytelling gives immortality to both the one who has died—in this case Linda, making her alive and able to skate with Timmy in this dream—and the one who tells the story.
I think that storytelling is a good way for O’Brien’s to cope with his traumatic experiences. In a story, the reader can personally experience fear and heroism, love and hate, compassion, sorrow, grief and joy in a controlled and safe environment. We can heal emotional wounds or celebrate life's victories through shared stories.
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