I Am Scout by Charles J. Shields Read Free Book Online Page A

in 2005 said that a waiter at a party in New York recognized Harper Lee sitting by herself at a table. Unable to resist the temptation to express his admiration, he struck up a friendly conversation with her and asked the inevitable, “Why didn’t you write another book?” 31
    She reportedly had every intention of writing many novels, but never could have imagined the success To Kill a Mockingbird would enjoy. She became overwhelmed. Every waking hour seemed devoted to the promotion and publicity surrounding the book. Time passed, she said, and she retreated from the spotlight. She claimed to be inherently shy and was never comfortable with too much attention. Fame had never meant anything to her, and she was not prepared for what To Kill a Mockingbird achieved.
    Then before she knew it, nearly a decade had passed and she was nowhere near finishing a new book. Rather than allow herself to be eternally frustrated, she simply “forgave herself” and lifted the burden from her shoulders of living up to her first book. And she refused to pressure herself into writing another novel unless the muse came to her naturally.
    A little more than a year after To Kill a Mockingbird was published, Nelle wrote to a friend in Mobile, “People who have made peace with themselves are the people I most admire in the world.” 32
    From all indications, she seems to have done that.

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