Story as a means of conveying meaning that cannot be said any other way.

The Rock that is Higher contains L'Engle's reflections from about 5 years after her husband's death. On the way to a lecture, a truck hit the car L'Engle was riding in and nearly killed her. She wrote this book as she dealt with a long, frustrating, painful recovery. In this book, L'Engle explores the nature of story and truth. Story conveys truth, and the truth conveyed by story goes beyond that of mere facts.

L'Engle's main source of inspiration in these reflections is the Bible. This puts her in a very interesting position on the question of whether or not the Bible is literally true. In her opinion, it seems, the literal truth of the Bible does not matter as much as the stories and the truth contained in them. Focusing on story rather than fact gave L'Engle strength through the process of her recovery. A list of facts does not convey meaning, but narrative, story, does, and it is through story that we understand the world. ( )

Though I do not agree with all of L'Engle's theology, her expression of poetry and thoughts on writing inspire and prompt my own reflection. ( )