About Anne Marie Gazzolo

“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.” - Flavia

My first exposure to The Lord of the Rings, although I did not know it at the time, was in 1980, when a beloved high school French teacher was leaving and I said, “May the Force be with you!” and she responded with a very enthusiastic “Frodo lives!” I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. I’ve wondered more than once why I remember those words so vividly decades later when they meant nothing to me at the time.

When I first truly encountered Frodo Baggins in a dark theatre in December 2001, and with him the tale contained in the Red Book of Westmarch, I did not how much he would grow on me. I was, after all, a completely obsessed Star Wars fan and had been so for over 20 years. It certainly did not occur to me that anything or anyone could tear me away from that! But this story and the people in it, have changed my life; imperceptibly at first, then radically, as slowly Mr. Underhill took up residence in my heart and I was transformed into who I am today. I am still very much a work in progress and I look forward to what is further down the Road.

Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) was once asked how many paths there were to God, and he replied that there were as many paths as there were individuals. My path, and those of others, happens to run straight through Middle-earth. God brought me to Frodo so Frodo could bring me closer to God. He is my favorite, partly because he is a scribe like me, but for many other reasons as well. How God must have smiled because He knew that a few years after that first, fateful meeting with that beloved little child of His, I would begin a spiritual journey which has profoundly changed me, given me a deepening peace and comfort, and a love for His Son and His plan for me that I hadn’t had before. I have grown as a Catholic from learning from Frodo, his Sam, Aragorn, and the others who fought with them and for them. I don’t know whether I would have found the paths I now travel without such guides, but it was undoubtedly “meant” to happen. God does indeed work in mysterious ways!

I read the Red Book after I saw the films and my favorite part in both is the love story of Frodo and Sam. It was the reunion in the Tower that really sealed it for me. It was such a tender, loving scene that showed the beauty, innocence and purity of their brotherly love so well. When I read the tale for the first time, I read parts of it aloud to my family and could barely form the words to say that Frodo was being whipped. It was almost too painful to say, after all he had already suffered. And there was Sam, thinking he could be eternally happy, just holding his treasure.

This story is only a fantasy on the surface. It is actually not that at all, but a real, spiritual tale of God's grace, given to those who make free choices to cooperate with His Will, often at great cost to themselves. On the deepest level, it is a love story. It shows us all how we must live - and in some cases, how we must not - and the consequences of living a moral life or an immoral one.

I have learned so much that I have a blog (http://momentsofgracelotr.blogspot.com) to go along with the book I am writing. I’ve also had an essay published in Lembas for the Soul: How The Lord of the Rings Enriches Everyday Life (2006) and have had papers presented at three Tolkien Society Seminars: “The Fiat of Ilúvatar’s Children During the War of the Ring” (2008), “‘I have something to do before the end’: The Journey of Samwise the Stouthearted” (2009), and “‘You have been chosen’: The Spiritual Journey of Frodo of the Shire” (2010). The first paper was also presented at the Mythcon 41 conference held in 2010 in Dallas, TX. I’ve also had an essay on Faramir called “A Man of Quality”published in the September 2010 issue of Beyond Bree, the newsletter of the Tolkien Special Interest Group of American Mensa. An essay entitled “Did Frodo Fail?” was published in their April 2011 issue. A poem “Hope” and an essay “Footprints on the Heart” was published in the third issue (2010) of Silver Leaves from The White Tree Fund.

I have always loved to read, write and research and I love Middle-earth so these endeavors are wonderful combinations of all those things. I wish to pass along some of the things which I have learned in the hope my fellow travelers on the Road may be helped as I have been. I want to be, as Blessed Mother Teresa said, “a pencil in God’s hand,” just as Professor Tolkien was. I have at last found my vocation through all this. Please pray for me!

Another profound change that has come is that during reading a couple of the books in order to deepen my knowledge of this wonderful world, I was suddenly filled with immense joy and peace that removed any fear of death because I knew something wonderful is beyond if I can just persevere. I always knew that, but I never had that particular feeling before and it has remained with me. Mortality is indeed the Gift to Men from the One Who wishes us all to be with Him.

My favorite books are Ralph C. Wood's The Gospel According to Tolkien, which has one of the most beautiful descriptions of the bond of Frodo and Sam being that of knitted souls; Peter Kreeft's The Philosophy of Tolkien, which is not only written from a scholarly point of view, but even more from the view of a joyful fan; Fleming Rutledge's The Battle for Middle-earth: Tolkien’s Divine Design in The Lord of the Rings, which is full of the spirituality of the tale as is Professor Wood’s; Verlyn Flieger's Splintered Light, which has some of the most wonderful things to say about Frodo and his transformation into the clear glass that Gandalf and Sam saw; and Sarah Arthur’s Walking with Bilbo and Jim Ware’s Finding God in The Hobbit, both of which show not only Bilbo’s physical and spiritual journey, but how we can apply such lessons to our own walk down the Road.

I also love to listen to the BBC Radio adaptation of the tale. I think even better than the book or the films, this truly shows the terrible toll that carrying his cross all the way to Mordor took on Frodo. Ian Holm did such a marvelous job portraying him--from an innocent lad excited about fireworks to one destroyed by the burden he had fearfully but willingly taken on. Listening to Frodo’s joy, love, torment and tears is the most powerful way to experience how it was for him. It is also how I first grew to like, respect and admire Aragorn.

I’ve also seen the films over a dozen times and think they are magnificent from the acting to the music to the special effects, though it is a shame that Aragorn and Faramir’s personalities were so distorted. Return of the King is my favorite, with Fellowship being a close second. I had specific favorite scenes in the first two films, but ROTK was like one huge favorite scene. After seeing that for the first time, I felt filled, as you would after a satisfying meal. I have seen both films accompanied by a live orchestra which is an experience no fan should miss! I look forward to a time when I can see The Two Towers the same way.

I would have loved to have seen the musical since I've heard such rave reviews. I hope it comes out on DVD one day with the same Frodo and Sam from Toronto. I have the soundtrack and love it. The hobbity songs are so much fun; the love song “Now and Always” is sweet and wonderful; the Elven songs are uplifting and inspiring, and the demonic assault on Sméagol by Gollum had me riveted in horror the first time I heard it while I was driving. I've seen some clips from the Toronto production and love the one with Frodo and Sam. I’m glad they were so faithful to the pure love between them. May such love live forever!