Corinne Desjardins Talks Persephone

What’s your story? I always fascinated by people’s back stories. It’s exciting to meet someone new and hear their story. I love to open a book or watch a movie and watch the characters’ stories unfold before my very eyes. I am captivated by the symphony created by the characters’ interweaving stories. I wonder what their lives were like before we met. I wonder where they are going after we leave them. You might say that I am addicted to stories.

Obsessed with stories and story elements, I happened to notice some characters within my real life. In all honesty, I probably first recognized the Terrible Mother character trope in my own mother-in-law. Naturally, I identified with the Ingénue. One of my favorite stories has been Persephone, in all her interpretations: Beauty & the Beast, Phantom of the Opera, Deanna Troi of Star Trek: The Next Generation. When I recognized my husband as Hades/ the Beast, I knew that I had fallen into Persephone’s story.

So now, what? I didn’t particularly enjoy being stuck in this Underworld. And my own dear Mother, she could only bring me back up so far. So I was inspired to look deep within, and search for meaning. What was the point of my story? What could I learn from Persephone? How did she become Queen? I was still becoming, well, me.

“Someone is staring at you, in Personal Growth.” Marie (Carrie Fisher), When Harry Met Sally. (1989)

And so I discovered that literary alchemy and Hero’s Journey were at play. The best stories are those of personal growth. I was beginning to make some sense of my story. It was an invitation to become my true self. What was my next stage in my personal character development? What was the next chapter in my life? What was my purpose?

I decided it was to write this book, so that other women might find their own stories.

Title: Persephone & Me
Author: Corinne Desjardins
Published: December 10th, 2013
Genre: Women’s Poetry
Recommended Age: 16+

Synopsis:

A poetry collection following my youthful fascination with Persephone and how she came to haunt me. I saw her constellation of characters within my own family and my own life. Ultimately, describing what I learned from the goddess.

Purchase Persephone & Me on Amazon