Life Experience
Jason Warburg ’84 shares the story of a series of events that occurred within a challenging period of his life. He offers a heartfelt memoir that magnifies the throes and triumphs of life that we as humans face in his new book, The Remembering: Reflections on Love, Art, Faith, Heroes, Grief and Baseball, (Wonder Wheel Publications, 2021).
What prompted you to write The Remembering?
The Remembering came together after a really eventful period in my life when I lost my mother and father in the span of 20 months. In the middle of that, my job that I had been in for over 10 years, was downsized out of existence. It was challenging, and then the pandemic hit as well not long after. There was a lot to unpack, and I found myself doing what I’ve done a lot in my life. I found myself processing the things and emotions I was experiencing by writing about them.
Did you know you wanted to turn it into a book?
Originally, I had been writing essays for the blog on my website. I had been writing and posting essays in my blog for almost two years, about my parents passing and the things going on in my professional life. After a while I could sense that the writing was building towards something. Having written three books in the past, I felt that those books taught me lessons along the way and helped me write this one.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned about yourself while writing?
I was fascinated by thinking in a more concentrated way about memories and the quality of memories. How three people in a room experiencing a sequence of events can experience them differently. I believe that memory is a story that we tell ourselves, based on our unique perceptions of events. Also, because I was talking about personal topics and personal histories, it was challenging to decide how much I was willing to share and how deep I was willing to go. It was a little scary at times, but also satisfying being able to dig deep and talk about my life. I was able to find a medium to talk about the people in my life in an honest and respectful way.
How has this book impacted your life?
It’s been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had as a writer. The most surprising and heartening thing I found was that I was getting great feedback from friends and family. The common theme seen was that the things I was going through are big milestones in life that everyone goes through. We all lose jobs, we all have to say goodbye to our parents. We all experience loss, and these experiences help shape us as human beings. I could tell that this story struck a nerve with readers: it felt as if there was an exchange that occurred within the audience and myself.
