Mary Roach is a different person than what I saw from reading her book Spook. My impression was that she was all about research and getting her answers, but I was pleasantly shocked. Mary Roach definitely writes the way she speaks, with a small humorous banter and the slight tangent here and there, but she showed that she isn’t all about simply getting the research, and that she enjoyed getting the research and obtaining answers, and then making her own conclusions.
I learned about Mary Roach by first reading Spook, but then I attended the Spook Convocation on September 26th, and it offered insight on her latest book, Spook. I had the privilege of meeting Mary Roach before the Convocation even began, and she was incredibly sweet then! Then from when she set foot on stage to when she walked off, she was very open to a variety of questions from all the students in attendance. She talked about why she wrote Spook, and even her other books; her reason being her curiosity. Curiosity is her driving force into writing a book for others to read, but it is a way for her to explore what she is curious about. Roach became curious over the question of life after death, and what lies on the other side, so she decided to investigate for answers. And investigate she did. She told the audience about her experience with a ghost ship and she even told us that she wanted to go into the world of exorcism, but was denied by an expert in the field. What a shame that was; I would have quickly read that chapter of the book with a pressing interest. Roach ended her book Spook with a vague ending, and she said she wished that she could have changed it. Her answer to what she believes lies on the other side is, “I believe that when you die, you go to the place you were before you were born, and I don’t know what that is.” That is hard to take in; it certainly is very logical, but it can be hard to believe.
Regardless of how vague the ending was, Mary Roach was a delight to listen to. She was very warming and polite and answered all questions dutifully. Attending the Convocation allowed me to have a better insight in how I was going to finish my paper on Spook, certainly a better understanding of Mary Roach’s thoughts upon the afterlife. I was happy to have been in attendance at the Convocation because I was able to learn about the process Mary Roach goes through to find out what she wants to research and then how she actually goes out and gets the research. From the Convocation, I was able to learn more about curiosity, which was the most important thing she spoke about; “It’s a state of mind, being curious.” I will always hold this fact close when I think about going on in life and in my career, that it is okay to be curious and wonder, and then to go out and get the answer.