Life Lessons Harry Potter Taught Me: Discover the Magic of Friendship, Family, Courage, and Love in Your Life

by Jill Kolongowski

Overview

Essays exploring the universal themes in the greatest young adult series ever, from a literary scholar and devoted fan.

The books will always be a part of you. Now, revisit old Hogwarts haunts. Reconnect with favorite characters. And learn far more than the correct pronunciation of “Wingardium Leviosa.” With Life Lessons Harry Potter Taught Me, you’ll discover how the universal themes and lessons of the series apply to your Muggle life, including:

• Drawing strength from friends

• Learning from mentors and heroes

• Challenging conventional ideas

• Overcoming obstacles and setbacks

• Trusting yourself when others don’t

Using a combination of literary criticism and personal essays, this book explore issues that everyone faces—from courage and fear to the importance of girl power and the complexity of relationships.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612437477
Publisher:	Ulysses Press
Publication date:	02/10/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	178
File size:	710 KB

About the Author

Jill Kolongowski is a Hufflepuff who teaches writing and literature at the College of San Mateo. She is also the managing editor at YesYes Books. Her essays have won Sundog Lit’s First Annual Contest series and the Diana Woods Memorial Prize in Creative Nonfiction at Lunch Ticket magazine. Other essays are published in Profane, Sweet: A Literary Confection, Southern Indiana Review, Fugue, and elsewhere. She lives in California, and her Patronus is a tortoiseshell cat.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Lumos: On Discovery, Wonder, and Cynicism 6

Aguamenti: On Home, Food, Family, and Belonging 12

Priori Incantatem: On Connecting Generations 23

Fidelius: On Betrayal and Loyalty 34

Legilimens: On Good People and Death Eaters 43

Specialis Revelio: On Fate and Free Will 55

Evanesco: On Losing Our Heroes 65

Rennervate: On Knowledge and Loss of Innocence 73

Expecto Patronum: On Loneliness, Friendship, and Community 86

Protego: On Kindness 98

Flagrate: On Prejudice and Respect 105

Sonorus: On the Power of Words 119

Imperio: On Breaking the Rules and the Danger of Power 125

Riddikulus: On Laughter in Darkness 138

Wingardium Leviosa: On the Unbearable Rightness of Hermione 146

Petrificus to Talus: On Bravery 156

Acknowledgments 166

About the Author 170