What’s Eating Aaron Anderson? How Fantasy Addresses Life’s Struggles

In our new Guidebook Series, there is a battling raging between the forces of light and shadow, good and evil, and the spaces in between. This is the same battle each and every one of us confronts every day of our lives.

In the Folktellers Universe, stories are the source of all power, and there are Folktellers, Guardians, and Travelers who have sworn to collect, protect and share these stories with all those who need them to fulfill their own, personal destiny.

And then there are the shadows, entities from another realm whose sole goal is to steal the stories and destroy them, in an effort to spread darkness across the universe.

So, how do these fantasy realms relate to our world?

Well, let’s start with the story. Stories are powerful things in our world as well. In fact, stories are the primary mechanism for how we communicate and relate to each other as human beings.

In his article, “The Science of Storytelling,” Leo Widrich points out that evolution has wired our brain for storytelling, answering the question:

“Why does the format of a story, where events unfold one after the other, have such a profound impact on our learning?

The simple answer is this: We are wired that way. A story, if broken down into the simplest form, is a connection of cause and effect. And that is exactly how we think. We think in narratives all day long, no matter if it is about buying groceries, whether we think about work or our spouse at home. We make up (short) stories in our heads for every action and conversation. In fact, Jeremy Hsu found [that] “personal stories and gossip make up 65% of our conversations.”

Now, whenever we hear a story, we want to relate it to one of our existing experiences. That’s why metaphors work so well with us. While we are busy searching for a similar experience in our brains, we activate a part called insula, which helps us relate to that same experience of pain, joy, or disgust… We link up metaphors and literal happenings automatically. Everything in our brain is looking for the cause and effect relationship of something we’ve previously experienced.”

Ok, so that makes sense — a fantasy realm where whoever hold the story wields the power relates to our primal need to share stories with each other for the purpose of growth, understanding and just plain entertainment — Got it!

Now, what about this play between light and shadow and the conflict between the two? This is where things get really interesting in the Folktellers Universe…

As a young Folkteller, Aaron Anderson must choose to follow his destiny and save the universe, or stay right where he is and continue his average life. Along with his friends, the teen begins to learn that the external battle between good and evil rages within him as well.

In a recent New York Times article, “Evolution and Our Inner Conflict,” Edward O. Wilson questions:

“Are human beings intrinsically good but corruptible by the forces of evil, or the reverse, innately sinful yet redeemable by the forces of good? Are we built to pledge our lives to a group, even to the risk of death, or the opposite, built to place ourselves and our families above all else? Scientific evidence, a good part of it accumulated during the past 20 years, suggests that we are all of these things simultaneously. Each of us is inherently complicated. We are all genetic chimeras, at once saints and sinners — not because humanity has failed to reach some foreordained religious or ideological ideal — but because of the way our species originated across millions of years of biological evolution.”

This are the forces at play within Aaron, Wendy, Jake, and Eddie, as well as the forces that battle within the Folktellers Universe as a whole.

What makes the Guidebook Series so intriguing for young readers, as well as adults, is that it presents these complex ideas in the form of an engaging fantasy narrative. In fact, the unknown Folktelling narrator invites us into this series with a single, desperate note:

To Whom It May Concern:

I’m so sorry…

If you’re reading this, you’re already in serious danger. It means I’m either missing or dead.

There’s so much to tell you and so little time — please read this and find the young Folkteller and his friends — as the fate of our world rest on your shoulders now.

You need to know that I’m a Folkteller too, one of the chosen few who travel through time and space, compelled to tell the stories people need to hear.

A dark, shadowy force has entered our world and seeks to steal the stories and take control of the entire universe.

There is a book, a Master Guidebook. It is the Book of Books, and it contains everything. I’ve hidden it, but now the shadows know it exists and they’ll stop at nothing to get it — even murder.

Please, find the young Folkteller, Aaron, and his friends Wendy, Jake and Eddie, and help them close what’s been opened, and uncover what’s been hidden for centuries.

Beware of the shadows, for they’ve found a way to take on many forms. They will appear as monsters and creatures of myth and legend from around your world. They are dangerous and deadly.

But, most of all, beware of Apscind, their leader. He is cunning, clever, and the evilest thing to ever enter our universe.

Be brave and fearless. I promise, there will be others to help you along the way. I’ve left clues, notes and even a map to help guide you. Your first clue is within this very letter.

You must hurry — please go now — before it’s too late…

Yours in faith and confidence,

X

Ultimately, our goal is to get young people to think about who they are, what they want to be, and the begin to take control of their own, personal narrative in the context of the complex lives we all live.

For there will always be conflict, the difference is what you intend to do about it.