The late Christopher Hitchens, remembered as an intellectual and influential journalist possessed of a quick mind and capacity for cynical derision, is still quoted, “Everyone has a book in them and that, in most cases, is where it should stay.” Wildly successful novelist Jody Picoult, known for building a dramatic storyline around moral dilemma, reportedly has said, “Everyone has a book in them, but it doesn’t do any good until you pry it out of them.”
And British author Kathryn Joyce (“Thicker Than Soup”) writes, “We all have a book in us. The first step is recognizing this. Writing is a whole new journey.”
Robert Feller, 73, has always enjoyed writing and has done so, penning poetry and short stories, since he was 14 years old. Yet, it wasn’t until he had retired, after working in the Alisal Union School District for more than 20 years, that he packed up the baggage from a tormented childhood and began his writing journey.
In 2015, Feller marshaled his courage and dug deep into his childhood experiences, marred by having been raised by a bipolar father. The result is “The Bipolar Express,” a memoir that chronicles and works through a childhood governed by an unpredictable authority in the home.
“When we speak from our own experience, we write what we know, what we feel, creating an authentic story. That’s where Robert’s strength lies,” said Dr. Stephanie Bouc, with whom Feller consulted. “By sharing recollections from his childhood, Robert found meaning and purpose through his writing.”
“The Bipolar Express,” says Bouc, has been recognized by NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
“I knew I would write during my retirement, a point in my life when I finally had time to reflect,” Feller said. “I’d been writing editorials and poetry for years, but I was waiting for the opportunity to write something of substance.”
Growing up and getting out
Raised in the West Covina suburb of Los Angeles, Feller, whose mother’s family was from Ukraine and Poland, while his father’s family set down roots in Vienna, Austria, found his childhood community a pleasant place to grow up, despite the heat. Which is why what he remembers and appreciates most about his youth is the ice rink that cooled his hot summers.
Feller graduated from high school at 15 to escape his difficult household, escorted to USC by a scholarship from Hewlett-Packard to earn his degree in engineering. Two years later, he decided to listen to his heart instead of his head and transferred to UCLA where, at 19, he was conferred a bachelor’s degree in English literature, with an emphasis on humanities and German.
Having gone on to achieve his teaching credential, he followed with his master’s degree in counseling and Spanish. After teaching for 10 years in Huntington Park, in 1991, Feller was invited to teach a bilingual sixth-grade class in Salinas. Twelve years later, he became an elementary school counselor.
It was at Alisal Community Elementary School where Feller walked into the teacher’s lounge on that first day in the semester, and noticed a woman with “long brown hair and a dolphin smile.” He and fellow faculty member Linda Falk were married a year later and remained happily so until two years ago, when he lost her to cancer.
Feller, who now lives in Carmel Valley, is currently working on a compilation of poetry and creative nonfiction stories, based on things he hears, things he notices, things he experiences, and his own observations, which make each a story worth telling.
“I’m very right brain and have a lot of imagination,” he said. “I write from my experiences and from my dreams, so I keep a notebook by my bed and also carry it with me to jot down what comes up.”
John Steinbeck, in “Of Mice and Men,” spoke of the dearth of engagement for those who live alone, unable to process what they experience with someone who saw what they did, someone who can say, “I get it.” And so, they often write, turning their experiences into stories.
“My writing is like a companion,” Feller said. “It’s very comforting, creative, and therapeutic to write and also to be read, to be heard ─ kind of an ‘I was here’ validation. So I will continue to do so.”
“The Bipolar Express” is available at Amazon.com.
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2022-10-16 17:32:50Z
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