Beginning of the end: What we can learn from starting anew

Last year, Phillip Pullman released the final instalment in his spin-off series, The Book of Dust. I started reading Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy when I was ten, so it felt full circle that I began the books in primary school and ended them after my first term at university. Similarly, the protagonist, Lyra, begins the series at about aged twelve, and ends at around the age of twenty, so there was another parallel to my own life. Pullman embraces the nostalgia of her growing up, with the loss of her childish imagination. Finishing the series felt additionally nostalgic, as they marked another door closed on my childhood and the things I’d enjoyed growing up. We can learn a lot from books about starting anew; the importance of change and the inevitability of endings.  

In Evenings and Weekends, Oisin McKenna depicts a group of adults living in London as their twenties draw to a close. Their responsibilities broaden and threaten their carefree lives, spent enjoying London’s nightlife and gay scene. While McKenna doesn’t shy away from the difficulty of accepting new phases of life, he frames change as an opportunity for self-discovery. Change forces the characters to not only reevaluate their relationships and choices but to come out with greater clarity and stronger connections.  

No one found success by staying in their comfort zones

I find memoirs can be useful when navigating endings and beginnings. No one found success by staying in their comfort zones. I read Cathy Burke’s memoir A Mind of My Own over the summer. She is a testament to seizing opportunities, even in rooms we feel we don’t belong in. Often in Burke’s life, the closing of one door was the opening of another.  

Michelle Obama’s Becoming is another reminder of this. Each transition in her life brought her closer to ‘becoming’ the woman she is today. When starting university, you must seize every opportunity to try new things and meet new people. Maybe one day, you’ll be writing about it. 

In Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro poses the opposite of change: stagnation. Stevens, the ageing butler, reflects on his life of unquestioning service. He reminisces on the life and love he neglected in favour of what was familiar and safe. As Stevens’ career ends, he is left with only an unacknowledged sense of remorse. At Warwick, the constant reading, talk of internships, and deadlines can easily consume you, but there’s so much more to university. The change from high school to university can offer a reset and an opportunity to develop friendships, interests, and your mindset. 

The only way to start a new chapter is to finish the past one

I couldn’t complete this list without Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The book is a coming-of-age novel, centring Charlie’s first year of high school. Chbosky does justice to the fear of new starts, where you feel you don’t belong, especially as a young person. Although Charlie is a lot younger than most first-year uni students, many of his experiences resonate; first relationships, new friendships, unfamiliar experiences. As well as starting anew, Chbosky reflects on endings, especially watching friends leave. This book is a reminder to savour the experiences, as a year goes by before you know it. Charlie also reminds us that it’s okay to be having a great time, with great people and still struggle at times.  

The only way to start a new chapter is to finish the past one. Finishing school, leaving home and starting over can be as painful as it is exciting. I cried at the end of The Book of Dust, after eight years, that world, those characters, were over. But with anything ending, I’m glad I got to fall in love with those books, and I look forward to finding my next favourite read.