I’m reading The Wizard of Oz in Spanish. As I turn the pages, the Technicolor version of the movie plays in my head—but the book throws in new scenes and backstories that make it feel like I’ve landed in the land of Munchkins and witches all over again.
One part that really stood out was the Tin Man’s backstory. He shares that he was once a man, in love with a young Munchkin girl. They planned to marry, but an old woman, who depended on the girl for care and household chores, didn’t want to lose her. So, she struck a deal with the Wicked Witch of the East. In exchange for a cow and two sheep, the witch enchanted the Tin Man’s axe. Each time he went to chop wood, the axe turned on him—first cutting off a leg, then an arm, until eventually it cut him in two. Each time, he visited a tinsmith to replace the missing part. But without a heart, he could no longer love. “What would I love her with?” he asks.
Reading it in Spanish slows me down in a good way. I don’t skim; I savor. I’m noticing details I never caught before. Language, like magic, reveals new worlds. The translation has me thinking more deeply about the Tin Man’s journey—about being broken, rebuilt, and the question of what it means to feel whole again.
There’s something heartbreaking about being pieced back together but losing your heart in the process. It makes me think about the ways we adapt to pain—stronger, shinier, maybe—but a little more distant from what made us tender to begin with. I find myself wondering what parts of us are lost in the process of fixing ourselves. Can we ever truly recover what we lost, or are we forever changed, reformed into something new?
Once upon a time, I couldn’t get enough of Oz and Alice in Wonderland-type worlds. Through the Looking Glass, Return to Oz, and the original Wizard of Oz were all worlds I’d immerse myself in. The colors, the plant life, and the sing-songy quirkiness of it all. What fun! Can’t I go, please?
Is there a book or movie from your childhood that still tugs at you? One you’ve rewatched or reread and seen through new eyes?
I hope you had a lovely weekend. Love, Jaclynn
Going On 40 