When one hears the term ‘Notebook’, a couple of different thoughts spring to mind.
For most it’s the 2004 blockbuster film based on a best-selling Nicholas Sparks novel. It’s this very film which propelled actors Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams into Hollywood stardom, and which would set the tone for romance films in the years that followed. You would be forgiven for thinking of this rather than a Notebook or Journal itself, as The Notebook is one of the most popular films in recent history. This article discusses the film and the book, and we believe the film relayed an important message to each and every one of us.
The Notebook is well known and adored by many. It tells the tale of two teenagers, Allie and Noah, in 1930’s South Carolina who, despite coming from opposite sides of the track, meet and fall in love over the course of one summer. “Summer love” as Allie’s father referred to it. As Allie’s summer vacation in Seabrook comes to an end, both her and Noah are separated from one another as her upper class parents do not approve of their blossoming romance.
Desperate to keep her, Noah writes Allie a letter every single day for an entire year. 365 letters all of which she never received as her mother hid them from her. As time passes, both of them are forced to move on with their lives despite the heartbreak they endured. Allie continues her studies in New York while Noah is deployed to Europe to the battlegrounds of World War II. During the course of the film, there are flashbacks to the present where an elderly gentleman, Duke, opens up an old Journal Notebook and reads to a woman suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. It becomes a daily ritual and as the film progresses, the audience slowly realises that this isn’t any old story that Duke is reading.
Duke is in fact Noah and he is reading their love story to Allie as a way of helping her remember him. Her memory of Noah, their summer of love and the life they later built together return briefly each time she is read the story from his Notebook.
After the release, The Notebook became a box-office success and was well received by critics. It currently has an official IMDb ranking of 7.9/10 based on over 392,000 reviews. Furthermore, one of the most well-known and renowned film critics, Roger Ebert, ranked The Notebook movie 3.5 out 4 stars.
As a result of this film and it’s touching storyline, many families of those suffering with Alzheimer’s have a special appreciation for the benefits of reading to those with the disease. Some also feel that The Notebook has helped, though accidentally, raise awareness about the disease. According to the latest facts and figures report from the Alzheimer’s Association, “an estimated 5.4 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer’s disease in 2016” This all leads us back to the topic of a Notebook or Journal and how an item that is often overlooked and taken for granted has the power to bring positive changes to someone’s life.
There are plenty of benefits to keeping a Notebook or Journal. Some of them you may already know and others will surprise you.
Here are 10 benefits of writing in your Notebook or Journal:
- Help you to achieve your goals
- Allow you to become more mindful and present
- Improve your ability to process emotions more effectively
- Improve your memory (just as Noah read to Allie in the movie) and communication skills
- Spark much needed creativity
- Get to know yourself better. It will be the best non-judgemental friend you’ll ever have!
- Reduce stress levels
- Journaling allows you to track your own personal growth and development
- Disentangle thoughts and gain much needed clarity
- Build self-confidence and foster self-discovery
These are only a handful of the benefits that using a Notebook or Journal can offer. We get so busy in our day to day lives that we often forget to take time out for ourselves. This causes us to lose sight of the very things that make us feel alive, happy and centred. Keeping a Notebook or Journal is the key to helping us find that balance, as well as providing us with the 10 benefits above.
So what are you waiting for? Whip out that Journal or Notebook already and good luck on your journaling journey!