Members of my family are considering a 12-step program for me; the Twilight Saga movies have come to an end and Stephenie Meyer hasn't written a Twilight book since Breaking Dawn was published in 2008. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner doesn't count because it's merely a backstory for Eclipse. The first movie came out in 2008 and the last installment, Breaking Dawn Part 2, debuted on November 15th. So, now what?
The Twilight books aren't exactly intellectual property but they're not meant to be. The writing is decent but not perfect (try to find a grammatically perfect book today; not possible). The stories are what hooked me. True, pure love. Sacrifice. Loving what's not necessarily right for you, but still pursuing your dream. The value of life. The value of the soul. Morality. Good triumphing over evil. It's not War and Peace but it isn't meant to be that, either. It's epic but not pretentious.
I've taken a lot of grief from people over the years for my so-called Twilight addiction. I will admit that I have been obsessed to varying degrees since the books were published and the movies filmed. Contrary to popular opinion, I don't have a crush on Edward Cullen (or RPatz), I don't want to find a vampire, and I don't want to live forever. What I want, and what Twilight provided, was an escape that didn't rot my brain, upset my psyche, or leave me unaffected. To those of you who laughed at me (and are probably still laughing at me)...shame on you. I suppose you have nothing that you use to escape reality?
A lot has happened in my life in the "Twilight years" and some of them were pretty hard to take. Twilight was released in 2005 and a year later I had a very bad fall down the stairs that led to months of surgery and rehab that ultimately failed. In 2008 my son joined the Air Force, and while I will always be proud of his decision, it hasn't always been easy to be the mother of a military man. In 2010 I was laid off from a job I loved. I then spent 5 months at a job from hell before moving into healthcare IT (which I do love). My daughter grew up and moved out. My husband began traveling 3-4 days per week for his job. I had a 4th and final ankle surgery in 2011.
The Twilight universe was my escape. Bella was a klutz and a mess but she had an underlying stubbornness that I could relate to. She was attractive but not a supermodel, she was intelligent without being a nerd, and she was the product of a failed marriage, but with parents who were still friends and who still loved their daughter. Lots of kids with divorced parents go through a lot of trauma; Bella was loved and loved her parents and had a good relationship. Lots of us with divorced parents wish that they could say the same.
Stephanie Meyer did a great job of writing about a love that was pure and that could not be sexual (while Bella was human). Edward was a tortured soul who found his soulmate- something we all hope to do. And yet when he found her, he knew that his presence put her life in danger, every single day. He tried to leave her, to keep her safe, but their love was too strong and he had to come back, no matter the cost. He was concerned for her soul and wanted to keep her safe and human. I was surprised at the total lack of religion in the books, given that Stephanie Meyer is Mormon, but I was also pleased that Bella and Edward waited until they were married to have sex, and when she found herself pregnant she chose life, even at the probable loss of her own life.
My past five years haven't been all bad, of course. I earned a Master's Degree, saw my children grow into amazing adults and take their first adult steps into the working world. A beautiful, amazing, wonderful girl has entered our lives by marrying my son. I work in a great place, and love my job. I'm finally in my dream house.
But we live in a scary world. Our country is heading toward a total loss of morals. Common sense is gone. Half of America has their hand out, waiting for someone to plop some money or other entitlement into it. The Middle East is just waiting to explode. The European economy is a mess (and a harbinger of our future). Can you blame me for wanting to escape for awhile?
Yeah, I'll miss Twilight. I've read the books so many times that I can probably recite entire blocks of text. Ditto for the movies. I own the books in paper, Kindle, Audible and CD format. I have Twilight action figures and T-shirts. I even write a little fan fiction, although I don't publish it anywhere. I have had a hard time finding something else that captivates me the way that Twilight did. A lot of vampire books are too gory, and fantasy books with dragons and princesses really don't interest me. I love sci-fi but some of the newer science fiction is weird. I've tried dystopian fiction and don't much like it, either. I've been plowing through the Rizzoli and Isles books and some other mysteries and fantasies, but I don't think I will ever again find a book series that captivated me the way Twilight did.
I am sad. Don't judge me.
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