美国国家公共电台 NPR On The Rocky Road To Adulthood, Illustrator Asks 'Am I There Yet?'

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Mari Andrew is the dark-haired woman in black glasses in real life and cartoons that she draws for her Instagram account about what she learns as she goes along in her real life about loss, love and trying to grow up by the time you're 30 and get accused of being an adult. She's produced a book of cartoons, short essays and pointed¹ observations drawn², in always, from a couple of tough years. It's called "Am I There Yet?: The Loop-De-Loop, Zigzagging³ Journey To Adulthood⁴." Mari Andrew joins us in our studios in New York. Thanks so much for being with us.

MARI ANDREW: It's an honor⁵. Thank you so much for having me.

SIMON: These drawings began with sad events, didn't they?

ANDREW: They did - yeah. During a tough breakup, I also experienced⁶ the loss of my father and found myself at sort of a rock-bottom place, which is a place where you often begin to think about what you really want in life. And at the same time, I realized that I was the only person who was in charge of my happiness. And so I went on a crusade to make myself happy. And one of the things that I did every day was do a little watercolor drawing.

SIMON: You take us through some early jobs in your life in Chicago and then Washington, D.C. Then your apartment building in D.C. catches fire.

ANDREW: Yeah.

SIMON: You didn't need another near tragedy in your life.

ANDREW: I'm just collecting them, I think. I think when I decided⁷ to be a writer, I kind of signed up for a life of interesting experiences.

SIMON: But it's interesting because, well, that fire made you appreciate something all over again, didn't it?

ANDREW: Yes. That was mundanity⁸ and the beautiful feeling of being at home somewhere. I wandered around a lot in my life. I grew up in Seattle, went to school in Chicago, moved to South America right after college, lived in Baltimore, as well - never thought that I would find home anywhere. And I didn't really like living in D.C. because it was a time of life that's kind of hard for people - mid-20s. I didn't have a straight-arrow career path, didn't have the love of my life, didn't have quite everything that I wanted. But I had a really beautiful set of neighbors. And I had a beautiful daily routine⁹. And after the trauma¹⁰ of being in a fire, I grew to really treasure those daily experiences.

SIMON: You have a series of six gravestones drawn in your book. Could I get you to read them?

ANDREW: Of course.

SIMON: And as you read them, I hope our hope our listeners will decide, how would I feel about that above me? But go ahead.

ANDREW: Yes. Yes. Please. (Reading) One, she talked a lot about the things she wanted to do. Two, she spent a lot of time looking at strangers' Instagram accounts. Three, she enjoyed herself. Four, she explored. Five, she was too afraid to start. Six, she spent five decades comparing herself to others.

SIMON: Is there a right answer or less wrong answer? I mean I'd go with four.

ANDREW: Yeah, four sounds pretty good. I like she enjoyed herself. That's what I'm aiming for.

SIMON: That's three, right?

ANDREW: I think that's three. Yeah.

SIMON: I was torn between three and four. The loss of your father is at the heart of a lot of these lessons that you draw - any quick route through grief¹¹?

ANDREW: When I was first experiencing it, this little rhyme from preschool kept coming into my head. You can't go under it. You can't go over it. You have to go through it. And I knew that time was the only thing that was going to carry me through. And how I was going to fill that time would have a lot to do with what it looked like on the other side. So keeping myself happy and social and having moments of my day to both reflect and find some happiness for myself were key to getting through those many, many stages, which continue to unfold.

SIMON: I have to ask you about romance¹².

ANDREW: Please.

SIMON: What have you learned¹³ about romance that you wish you'd known at the age of, say, 25? And you're - forgive me - 30 now?

ANDREW: Thirty-one. Yes, yes.

SIMON: Thirty-one - not a gallant¹⁴ question to ask.

ANDREW: Now in my 30s - now as a wise woman in my 30s - dating has been such a beautiful experience for me. I don't think anyone as a child thinks, oh, when I grow up, I want to not really know what I want to do in life or not find the love of my life in my 20s. But getting to explore different parts of myself through living in different places, trying different careers and also getting to know different people romantically has been such a wonderful way to get to know myself better, get to know the world better, get to have more insights¹⁵ into the world. And I think that I would just give myself permission to keep exploring and not feel like I had to have it figured out so young.

SIMON: I would feel bad if we ended this interview without me having the effrontery¹⁶ to share something with you that I've learned being much older than you. We never grow up. We can lose all of our parents, have children, work for a living and never feel that we're quite grown up because in the middle of the night when we get anxious, we - you know, we always hope someone will help us through it.

ANDREW: Yeah - sounds totally plausible¹⁷. Thank you.

SIMON: Mari Andrew - her book "Am I There Yet?: The Loop-De-Loop, Zigzagging Journey To Adulthood" - thanks so much for being with us.

ANDREW: Thank you so much. It was a delight.

1 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 zigzagging   

v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的现在分词 )；盘陀

参考例句：

• She walked along, zigzagging with her head back. 她回头看着，弯弯扭扭地向前走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We followed the path zigzagging up the steep slope. 我们沿着小径曲曲折折地爬上陡坡。 来自互联网

4 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

5 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

6 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 mundanity   

世俗的

参考例句：

• Politicians are often accused of mendacity. 政客们常被斥为扯谎成性。

9 routine   

n.例行公事，惯例；adj.例行的，常规的

参考例句：

• It is everyday routine.这是每天的例行公事。
• She found the hospital routine slightly dull.她感到医院的工作有点枯燥乏味。

10 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

11 grief   

n.悲伤，悲痛，悲伤的事，悲痛的缘由

参考例句：

• Don't allow yourself to sink into grief,it can do no good.不要使自己陷入悲哀之中，这样一点好处也没有。
• After her mother died,she abandoned herself to grief.母亲死后，她沉浸于悲痛之中。

12 romance   

n.恋爱关系，浪漫气氛，爱情小说，传奇

参考例句：

• She wrote a romance about an artist's life in Tokyo.她写了一个关于一位艺术家在东京生活的浪漫故事。
• They tried to rekindle the flames of romance.他们试图重燃爱火。

13 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

14 gallant   

adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的

参考例句：

• Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
• These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。

15 insights   

洞察力( insight的名词复数 )； 洞悉； 领悟； 顿悟

参考例句：

• This is a book full of profound, original and challenging insights. 这本书充满了深刻、新颖、令人深思的见解。
• Because his judgement was prudent, his insights were central to any consultation. 因为他考虑问题很慎重，所以他的意见在每次磋商时都最受重视。

16 effrontery   

n.厚颜无耻

参考例句：

• This is a despicable fraud . Just imagine that he has the effrontery to say it.这是一个可耻的骗局. 他竟然有脸说这样的话。
• One could only gasp at the sheer effrontery of the man.那人十足的厚颜无耻让人们吃惊得无话可说。

17 plausible   

adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的

参考例句：

• His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
• Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。