Lembas for the Soul: How the Lord of the Rings Enriches Everyday Life - Catherine Kohman

A Review by Dr. Anna Smol These stories bear repeated witness to the pleasures of sharing the experience of The Lord of the Rings. What Ringer has not felt the joy of discovering the like-minded fan, whether at a line party in one's own neighbourhood or halfway around the world on the Internet? Or, suddenly, a fan appears at work or at school or maybe even within one's own family. These stories describe that sense of community among fans, no matter how they came to know The Lord of the Rings: perhaps it was reading Tolkien aloud on a rooftop in Iran at the age of twelve, or watching the DVD on a laptop in a hospital room after giving birth, or reading a book passed down from grandmother to father to son. We see teenagers discovering best friends at school, Internet friends crossing an ocean to meet in person, and families bonding in various ways.