She was born Alice Mary Norton but she legally changed her name so she could write under her own name.
She was Andre Norton, the most prolific science fiction and fantasy writer of her time. She published more than 130 novels over 70 years, attracting many young women to the genres at a time when they were considered mostly for boys. Her novels had an uplifting effect on her primary target – middle grade and young adults – because they often featured main characters who were young and alienated from their societies. As each story unfolded they would each find their true selves through epic quests.
Most of Andre Norton’s main characters were isolated young people who were very resourceful, with a very independent mindset and had lots of initiative. Some of these heroes were introduced that way in her books. Some would discover that they had these traits as they were thrown into plots that demanded that they rise to the occasion.
I was introduced to her as a young teen by a friend in high school. High school in Montreal begins in grade 7 until grade 11 and then you can continue your education in CEGEP, a junior college, to prepare for a 2 year diploma or for university.
Andre Norton was one of the first writers to have a female play the main role in her stories. I loved her books as a young person and identified with the loneliness and alienation that so many of her young protagonists felt. Even though her stories carried a similar theme, they were all different. Different story lines, different places, different characters. So that each story or series of stories really were great stories.
I read a LOT of science fiction in those days into my twenties. Many authors. I eventually moved my entire library of sci-fi books across the country with me to Calgary, Alberta where I’ve lived most of my adult life. I loved each and every one of her books. I continued to buy them for a while, but as my own children were born, any extra reading I did, I was reading to my babies. Then their sports activities made us all the more busy. But her books and many others were waiting for the day when I could sit down and have a GOOD read again!
But it got to the point where I tried to revisit her books and discovered that I could no longer identify with her characters. Andre Norton’s books along with all the others were no longer on my radar. I knew I’d turned a corner. I’d grown up. It was time to purge my library of all her books. And so they went sometime in the mid-2000s, donated to various charities.
I’ll always remember her books fondly as a way for me to imagine a life full of adventure and possibilities.
I still love sci-fi and fantasy movies to this day. That’s about as far as I go most days now, although my oldest son introduced me to Orson Scott Card and the Ender’s Game series after the movie came out in 2013. What a great delight that was – I read the entire series of books in a few months. And I did read the Lord of the Rings trilogy before the movies were made and critiqued them for timelines and such!
Andre Norton wrote to encourage young people. She wrote to tell people that things could change. That the change was inside ourselves and that we could surmount any difficulty with enough resourcefulness, faith and trust – in our own abilities. Her uplifting message was consistent throughout her bibliography. She never lost sight of her purpose.
Andre Norton used her talents as a writer to a grand scale. She was the first woman to receive prodigious awards for her talents writing scifi and fantasy including the Grand Master of Fantasy award, the Nebula Grand Master award, admission into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers’ Hall of Fame, and the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America named an award for young adult novelists for her shortly before her death. It was presented for the first time in 2006.
Maybe this sounds too lofty for a popular genre? But that’s where the appeal is. It doesn’t matter how the message is delivered, as long as it is delivered in a way that make people understand!
She found the perfect medium to convey a message of hope, positive action, positive change and transformation. For you and for her young protagonists. A very private person, Norton revealed little about her life outside writing. She never married and had no children. Her health was fragile for much of her life.
Andre Norton was a woman in a male-dominated industry. She changed her name so that she could write. She was sickly most of her life. None of that stopped her from achieving great heights inside her profession. She OBVIOUSLY took her own advice!
For awhile, I was reading self-help books and it was recommended by several GURUs to read one a week. I tried to do that and for the most part did. But then it occurred to me to ask, if I was actually getting anything useful out of this mechanical exercise of simply reading. Was I absorbing any of it? Did I find the information useful?
So I finally came across a couple of people who recommended actually choosing a few books from that vast library and actually studying them and practicing some of the instructions in there that might capture my attention more than the others. With the purpose of improvement and building understanding.
That was the best advice that I was looking for. Do the book, don’t just read it and toss it aside. There has to be some reason for picking up a book.
So I read fewer books these days that are new, but I continue to be a student. And I actually picked up some new books by Vernon Howard to study. I actually had one of his books in my library. It’d been sitting there since 2010 I think. It was the right time to read it. It’s called, “The Treasury of Positive Answers.”
So now I’m studying his material.
My work is all about possibility and possibility thinking. It changes the brain. It heals the brain. Neuroplasticity works both ways. You’re either shrinking the brain which is therefore a sick brain or you’re growing it. As you expand your life by WHAT you are THINKING, you are encouraging the birth and growth of new healthy brain cells and creating new healthy neural networks.
Because you’ve chosen to think constructively and positively and then taken those thoughts and put them into action to produce the results you want!
So, what about you?
Are you pouring your heart and soul into something that has a lot of meaning for you?
Are you ready to make tough decisions and go after what you want?
Success is not easy, not matter how you cut it. But the results are mighty fine. Stop living small. Dream big. Do big. Take a leap of faith. And be your own person all the way!
Dr. Joanny Liu, TCMD, RAc, P.Eng, International #1 Best Selling Author and founder of Extraordinary Sports Medicine, where we help athletes reverse injury, get back in the game they love and improve their quality of life.
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