Journal Six- Alexandra Edwards

 In the book Holding On there was a profile about Joe Merrill and Hilda Wilkinson, who were spiritualists that lived in Lily Dale, New York, which is the world capital of spiritualism.  Something that is memorable about this profile is that at first Joe and Hilda didn't want to be a part of this because they said the press had misquoted them before. I think that shows that even though this was a very big tourist town, people still looked down on what they did and would twist their words. Which can be related to many other profiles in this book. I think the thing that stood out to me the most was how spiritualism began, with two little girls hearing “rappings” in there home. Come to find out it was the spirit of a peddler who told them that he had been murdered in the house and upon further investigation there was a skeleton found in the basement. I think this profile is at its best when Hilda Wilkinson starts her interview I think she really adds a lot to the profile, especially when she relates spiritualism to history, it really puts things in perspective. I think this is still important today because it shows us a different religion and how to respect something that is different and I think we really need that in today’s society.

One thing that will stick with me from this book is the idea of not giving up on your dream. There were so many profiles that had a business that very few people visited but, that didn’t get in their way of pursuing their dreams. I think this is important because people need to know that even if their dream isn’t going the way they want they need to make the best of it. Another thing that will stick with me is the idea of the importance of childhood and family because a lot of these people’s passions started because of something that happened in their childhood or because someone in their family helped their passion along.  I think this is important because I think people take childhood and family for granted in today’s society and I think that’s something we really need to hold onto. I really enjoyed this book, it was different from any book I’ve ever read. I liked that the “chapters” were short but I wish they would make a new book that’s updated with what happened to some of these people. I also think it would be awesome if they made a new book with new people from today’s society. Some of the profiles in the book were very odd but over all I really enjoyed the book.