Book Review…Fear – Our Biggest Enemy

Mar 31, 2019 Book Review…, Features / Columnists

The book cover of Irie the Caterpillar

Book: Irie the Caterpillar
Author Latoya Wakefield
Illustrator: Kavion Robinson
Critic: Glenville Ashby, PhD

Latoya Wakefield makes a definitive statement on the one emotion that prevents us from authentic living. With vivid colour and masterful illustrations, she uses the tale of Irie, a caterpillar that is fearful of the cocoon that he must enter, if he, like those before him, must emerge a butterfly with all the freedom and adventure imaginable.
Irie’s trepidation, his dance with self-destruction is worrisome. He is frozen, his thoughts stricken with the dark silence that the cocoon represents.
“I’m so afraid of being in the dark by myself, mom,” Irie tells his mother. He is crippled, obsessed by fear as the clock ticks, a countdown to freedom or certain death.
His dissolution seems inevitable if he fails to reverse course, build confidence, trust his parents and take action. His parents are unrelieved. “He seems afraid of his path,” his grandma bemoans; his mother shudders at the consequences: “I’m worried. If he doesn’t go into the cocoon soon he could…” She cannot bear the thought of losing Irie, at one time, so promisingly joyous. His grandmother once recalled the momentous occasion of his birth, “Your mother gave you that name because you did not cry when you emerged from the egg, you laughed. Irie means everything is all right. When you laughed, we knew you were all right.”
Now, Irie must face his first challenge. The world on the other hand has little time to wait for Irie’s response. His cousin and friends have already evolved; they are butterflies exploring the terrain from an enviable vantage point. They have blossomed, mastering their newly acquired abilities; their potential boundless. “I feel great. Hurry up and join us.” Cousin Shuggie exclaims from above. “You should have been in the cocoon by now!” Irie, the doleful caterpillar ponders.
His parents are unwavering in their support, “We’re all here for you…Yes, Irie, we’ll be here day and night while you’re in thy cocoon.”
His mother reiterates, to reassure him, “I know you are afraid of being by yourself in the cocoon, my sunshine, but it’s only for a little while. When you come out, you’ll get to fly with us. And his grandma bolsters his growing resolve, “We are here for you, Irie.”
But only Irie can take that initial decisive step.
No doubt, Wakefield intends to reach a particular audience. Her use of vivid colour and illustrations, large font and simple and direct wording will appeal to children. But surely, we miss the mark if we fail to reflect on the profoundly mature message inscribed in just about every page.
In the article, “Operating from Fear: Don’t let fear hold you back; explore these effective techniques,” psychologist Matt James, PhD, examined the destructiveness of fear.
“Fear,” he writes “is one of those basic emotions that has become so pervasive it’s almost like the air many people breathe. This pervasive fear is not functional fear. It’s based on emotional baggage from the past that hasn’t been released. It is focused on threats and dangers that aren’t real—or if “real,” not as serious as the fear would have us believe. It can be avoiding anything that has the possibility of failure, embarrassment, or rejection. It can be worrying about the future and anticipating the worst. It can be a sense of having to defend yourself constantly from seen and unseen “enemies.” The bottom line of this pervasive, non-functional fear is that it keeps you from being, doing and having what you want out of life.” (Psychology Today. September 14, 2017).
These words more than encapsulate the inner turmoil that Irie is experiencing. He is psychically and emotionally torn. His life is in the balance as he vacillates. He well knows what is at stake, but he tarries. Will he succumb to his fear?
Wakefield’s Irie the Caterpillar will not appear in Psychology Today or any like magazine for that matter. Still, with far more pedestrian language, she conveys the same instructive message.

Ire the Caterpillar by Latoya Wakefield
ISBN: 9781495299551
Available at Amazon
Ratings: Recommended
Feedback: glenvilleashby@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter@glenvilleashby

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