Stories to Be Told

I've been reading a book by John Green called Turtles All the Way Down. If my count is right, this will be the fourth book I've read by this author. As I am reading it, I comment to my husband that the storyline seems a little familiar. I think I said something like, "Protagonist is shy and awkward, has an eccentric outgoing friend, and circumstances set forth for an adventure in search of something." Hubs says, "Yeah, like Looking for Alaska." I say, "Actually I was thinking of Paper Towns." But that was exactly my point. At first, I admit I was a little judgey. No hate on John Green. He seems an interesting fellow. And reading his work is a nice, light reading kind of break for my mind that is often absorbed into heavier material. Each of the storylines have some variations that are fun and intriguing. Plus, everyone loves The Hero's Journey, which is virtually all of the movies and books we love. And then my thinking took a turn, I started wondering about Mr. Green. Why is it needs to tell this story over and over? What does it mean to him? Who does he identify with? What is he working through? And then what about me? What story do I need to tell? And why am I not telling it? What story do we each need to tell? Are we telling it? On the one hand, of course, I think we all have our own story to tell…but is there another one in there that needs to be told?