Hi. My name is Patricia J. Anderson. The J is on purpose because there are so many Patricia Andersons in this world, it can be confusing. There’s a lawyer, a politician, a dead lawyer, a dead politician, and a writer who lives in Canada who also isn’t me. It goes on like that. So I just want you to know right up front, I’m the one with the J. in the middle. No wait, there are some other J’s. And yes, at least one of them is dead.
“To say the name is to begin the story.”
In my new book, Threshold, the protagonist is named Banshooo. He lives in Ooolandia, a world very much like our own but with an extra “O.” Things aren’t going all that well there and, in an effort to save the population from disaster, he travels to the Unseen World. There he meets a seer who explains to him how stories define what is possible because stories create beliefs. Beings act on those beliefs and how they act makes things the way they are. It’s all connected, and it all starts with the story.
This is not a fanciful idea, it’s actually true. The world is made of stories. Human beings are programmed to see things in a narrative framework. When someone can’t do that, they can’t function and we call them “crazy,” or, to put it more clinically, psychotic. In the field of narrative psychotherapy, they’ve found that when someone has been badly hurt, a victim of torture, rape, or great loss, the patients who can construct a story that explains why such a thing could happen have a chance to recover enough to survive and function. Those who are unable to do so cannot reintegrate into the world. When it all seems meaningless, if there is no “reason,” no narrative describing and explaining what has happened in our lives, we are at sea.
Ursula Le Guin said: “Stories held in common make and remake the world we inhabit. The story we agree to tell about what a child is or who the bad guys are or what a woman wants will shape our thinking and our actions, whether we call that story a myth or a movie or a speech in Congress.” I believe this to be true and I believe it’s a wonderful thing because it means we can change the story. We can change it for the better. That’s the message in Threshold. We can change the story ... for the better.
Threshold
Patricia J. Anderson
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Common Deer Press
Date of Publication: March 27, 2018
ISBN Digital: 978-1-988761-17-6
ISBN Print: 978-1-988761-16-9
Number of pages: 240
Word Count: 66,000
Cover Artist: Carl Weins
Tagline: Fantastic Mr. Fox meets The Tao of Physics
Book Description:
The population of Ooolandia (a world much like our own but with an extra "O") is hypnotized by the culture of MORE. Citizens of all kinds and colors go about their lives unaware that hidden in the fog of everydayness a great calamity is approaching.
Banshooo, an amazingly mindful monkey, works for the Ooolandian Department of Nature with his colleague a mathlete mouse. Together they have amassed data proving, beyond any doubt, that the natural world is losing the stability necessary to sustain life. Unfortunately, their warnings are ignored by the authorities who are planning to phase out nature altogether.
Freaky winds, icy earthquakes, and mutant anemones plague the landscape. After a wildly devastating storm, Banshooo has a vision revealing the connection between Ooolandia and the Unseen World -- a connection that lies deep within and far beyond all that is seen. This connection is vital to Ooolandia's survival, and it is fraying. He realizes he must take radical action. Along with his quirky sidekick (a one-off of unique appearance whose primary interest is snacking), he sets out on a journey beyond the surface of the Seen to bring back proof of the true nature of nature.
Threshold Excerpt 3
The monkey sighs a big
one. “Okay, I saw an opening in the midst of a swirling foggy haze. I believe
it is the gateway to the Unseen World. But when I tried to go toward it, it was
like I was moving through layers of something, and then …”
“Then what?”
“Then I felt like I was about to break apart.”
Morie leans back. “Hmmm. That would indicate you might
have been approaching another realm.”
Ambrose’s eyes grow even wider than usual. “Can you do
that?”
“I knew a guy who tried.”
“Knew?”
“He’s no longer with us.”
“Oh.”
“There’s a molecular dispersion problem involved.”
“I see.”
“Supposedly there are ways to do it without splintering,
but it’s complicated. It has to do with perception.” He looks at Banshooo. “For
instance, you saw something that was happening in another space, like space
travel but in your mind. If you could access that perception, if you could go
into it, so to speak, you might be able to travel there without
dematerializing.” Morie speaks slowly as he thinks out loud. “Time and space
and perception. They’re joined, allied in some fundamental way. Exactly how and
in what manner … that is the question.” He rocks back and forth slowly.
“Are light-years a measure of the distance to enlightenment? I wonder …”
About the Author:
Patricia J Anderson’s essays and short stories have appeared in numerous periodicals including The Sun, Tricycle, Chronogram, Ars Medica, Glamour Magazine and Rewire Me.com. Her books include All of Us, a critically acclaimed investigation of cultural attitudes and beliefs, and Affairs In Order, named best reference book of the year by Library Journal. She is the recipient of The Communicator Award for online excellence and has produced exhibition, kiosk and website copy for such institutions as the American Museum of Natural History and the Capital Museum. She is the editor of Craig Barber’s Vietnam journal, Ghosts in the Landscape. She lives with her family in New York’s Hudson Valley.
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