Today is May 6 and the Navigate the Chaos question to consider is “How often do you confront fear?”
Best-selling author Judy Blume knows a thing or two about confronting fear.
She confronted the fear involved with writing young adult novels about topics some consider taboo such as masturbation, menstruation, birth control, and death.
She has had to deal with criticism from individuals and groups that would like to see her books banned. The American Library Association (ALA) has named Blume as one of the most frequently challenged authors of the 21st century.
Despite her critics, Blume's books have sold over 82 million copies and they've been translated into 32 languages. On a personal level Blume has also confronted fear.
On August 15, 1959, in the summer of her freshman year of college, she married John M. Blume, who she had met while a student at New York University. He became a lawyer, while she was a homemaker before supporting her family by teaching and writing. They had two children but the couple divorced in 1976 with Blume later describing the marriage as "suffocating."
Shortly after her separation, she met Thomas A. Kitchens, a physicist. The couple married and moved to New Mexico for Kitchens' work. They divorced in 1978. She later spoke about their split: "It was a disaster, a total disaster. After a couple years, I got out. I cried every day. Anyone who thinks my life is cupcakes is all wrong."
As Blume wrote “Each of us must confront our own fears, must come face to face with them. How we handle our fears will determine where we go with the rest of our lives. To experience adventure or to be limited by the fear of it.”
Blume confronted her fear in order to determine where she went with her life. Are you?