graph to the last page . That biblical story addresses theodicy , or why God permits evil in the world . Was there something specific enough about that theme to structure a novel on it ?
Nicholas Sparks : In the Christian version … God says , basically , look at Job . He ’ s so good . He ’ s so faithful . And the devil says , Well , that ’ s because you ’ ve given him everything . Look at his life , what would he be without it ? In the Hebrew version : There ’ s no devil . So , when we talk about that , it ’ s something to keep in mind . But really , it ’ s what Job went through … and ( how he ) maintained his faith and was rewarded in the end . ( But ) you can ’ t really ( talk deeply about that without ) it being a major spoiler . … It ’ s really about how does one cope when such horrific things happen , especially if they ’ re a person of faith ?
TM : Faith and the power of prayer are important to this story : The novel even ends with a prayer and prayer looms over everything that happens in the novel . That ’ s especially true for Jasper , who seemingly learned from his father a biblical verse for seemingly every situation — good or bad . A lot of our world today seems to be lacking in such faith or the power of prayer . Is there a message in all of this , Nicholas ?
NS : I ’ m a guy who prays regularly , I pray every morning , and I actually pray for quite a long time . It ’ s usually about a half an hour , and I pray with gratitude . And it ’ s helpful to me as I navigate the ups and downs of life to feel the peace associated with that . What does any of this really matter ? What really matters is one ’ s relationship with God . It ’ s certainly the way I feel . It is certainly the way Jasper felt in the novel , ( at least ) for a long time . But there is no message . There is no message to readers because if you look at the other major characters in the novel , Tanner and Kaitlyn , neither one of them is particularly religious . You know , I try to create characters that are true to who they are , and who are interesting and who are people , like them , who readers know so that they strike a universal chord . But , but there ’ s no message . It was just an aspect of Jasper ’ s character that I thought rounded out his character and described him really well . That ’ s the kind of human being he is .
TM : Something that drives Tanner ’ s character is that he ’ s an itinerant veteran who has experienced many deaths of his former comrades . PTSD and veteran suicide are rampant with our soldiers today . Why did you feel compelled to address this in the novel ?
New Bern author Nicholas Sparks . Photo by Brad Poirier it ( due ) to family — my cousin , Todd ( Vance ) who served and was also the inspiration for ( the novel ) “ Dear John .” After he was discharged , honorably discharged , ( he ) got a degree in social work and then worked with veterans for a few years . He has watched or heard of 15 or 16 or 17 people that have committed suicide in the aftermath . And it is a tragedy . And you know , I saw the way he responded — he did social work , which of course kind of goes in with Tanner ’ s character . Also , there ’ s just the element of living in New Bern , North Carolina , and knowing many veterans , and they have kind of gone through the same thing with people that they ’ ve known who then committed suicide ; and some of my former track athletes ( from high school in New Bern where Sparks once coached ) who served , they come back , and they ’ ve ( had ) friends who , in the aftermath of their service abroad , their foreign tours , have committed suicide . So , it ’ s a little bit more present in a place like New Bern , and it ’ s a little bit more present in my particular family . And I wanted to show how someone might respond to that trauma .
NS : Partly because I have limited personal experience with
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