Ninety-four percent of all Americans have cell phones and combined send about six million text messages per day!8
Technology’s effects on living things is a theme in Cell that hasn’t been fully explored by experts. Since cell phones and other devices are relatively new inventions, what do we know about how these things affect us? Some things may be obvious. The more time we spend on devices, the less we may be physically active. This could ultimately affect our health, and even eyesight, but isn’t necessarily unique to technology itself. A bit more nefarious are the effects that cell phone radiation may have on living things. According to a study conducted in 2010, “the indiscriminate use of wireless technologies, particularly of cell phones, has increased the health risks among living organisms including plants. The study concludes that cell phone EMFs impair early growth of V radiata seedlings by inducing biochemical changes.”7 The effects of having a cell phone in close proximity to your brain are not yet conclusive. It is known that radiation can be harmful but the long-term effects are not likely to be understood for a long time to come.
The people in the book move a bit like zombies but even more like birds. How do birds move in the way that they do? It’s quite a sight to see when you gaze upon a large group of birds flying in the sky together and they instinctively and automatically make a quick, calculated turn. This seemingly miraculous movement had even ancient Romans believing that the gods were speaking through flocks of birds. More recent scientists speculated that birds could communicate through telepathy or a type of biological radio. Current observations with photography and computer models have learned that the movement of birds comes down to natural, quick instincts. Though not visible to the naked eye, birds follow the movement of the bird in front of them when flying in a flock. Think of it as a giant wave in a football stadium except quicker. Birds are able to pay attention to their closest six or seven neighbors in a flock and follow their movements precisely.9 This helps them to evade predators and to move in sync. Researchers agree that they don’t yet know everything about how birds move in groups but speculate that they could be using auditory or even tactile communication in order to analyze space and movement. Unlike the affected humans in Cell, birds seem a lot more intelligent!
Although Stephen King’s novel Cell may seem dated in some ways, humanity’s link to technology is certainly still relevant. If the threat of a pulse that could control much of Earth’s population became a threat, could we put our devices down? Hopefully. But if not, this book gives us an idea of how we could fight to survive if we are one of the only ones left.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Lisey’s Story
In the summer of 1999, Stephen King was walking in the rural backroads of Lovell, Maine, for a bit of fresh air and exercise. Local resident Bryan Smith drove a van on the county road, and was purportedly distracted by a dog in his backseat, when he struck King from behind, sending him fourteen feet from the pavement. King was immediately brought to a nearby hospital, and then, because of his serious injuries, airlifted to the Central Maine Hospital. This watershed moment in Stephen King’s life has forever altered his fiction. A character named “Brian Smith” appears in The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower (2004), in which he is high on drugs and distracted by a dog in his vehicle. This theme also pops up in the TV series developed by King, Kingdom Hospital (2004).
In a more meaningful way, the incident inspired him to write Lisey’s Story, a novel unlike most of his body of work. While Lisey’s Story has a King-esque paranormal element, it is at its heart, a story about marriage and grief. While Stephen King was in the hospital, his wife, Tabitha, organized his office. When he returned, after a near-death experience, he was struck by what his office would look like if he had lost his life on that summer day. When asked in an interview if Lisey’s Story is about his own mortality, King was quick to admit it. “Sure, there’s no doubt about that. I had the accident, and then as kind of an outfall of the accident, two years later I had pneumonia because the bottom of my right lung was crumpled and nobody realized that. It got infected and that was very serious, that was actually closer [to death] than the accident. So, I had some of those mortality issues.”1
In Lisey’s Story, Lisa Landon’s famous author husband is not so lucky. He dies, leaving her with just memories. As she navigates through her grief, Lisa must face the reality that Scott had been escaping to an alternate reality their entire marriage, a place called Boo’ya Moon. Desperate to reconnect to her love, Lisa wants to traverse this beautiful yet frightening place to find him. This led us to question the vast depths of grief. And what better way than speaking with someone who is well-versed in this difficult topic? In order to learn more about the reality of grief we spoke to licensed professional counselor, and Stephen King fan, Samantha Dansby.
From the car accident, Stephen King suffered broken ribs, a broken hip and leg, and a punctured lung. He spent three weeks in the hospital and endured five surgeries.
Repressed memories refer to the rare psychological phenomenon in which memories of traumatic events may be stored in the unconscious mind and blocked from normal conscious recall.
Meg: “First, can you tell us about your professional background?” Samantha Dansby: “I have been working as a counselor since 2015. I’ve worked in a variety of settings, including an inpatient psychiatric hospital for teenagers, a private practice, a clinic that provided pro-bono counseling services, and for a community mental health organization. I’ve worked with a variety of mental health disorders from mild to severe and with clients ranging from the age of one to eighty-five.”
Kelly: “Wow! That’s quite a resume! What led you to pursue becoming a counselor?”
Samantha Dansby: “I have struggled with my own mental health throughout most of my life, as well as watching many others I love struggle. From the time I can remember, all I really wanted to do was help others, and counseling gave me that outlet. I lost my mother at the age of twenty-two and my father at the age of twenty-six, so that pushed me more to want to work with grief specifically.”
Intense grief can cause “Broken Heart Syndrome” in which the heart muscles are changed, eventually mimicking the symptoms of a heart attack.
Meg: “I’m sorry to hear that. How would you describe the grieving process? Is it unique to every human? Do there seem to be shared experiences?”
Samantha Dansby: “Oh, wow. How to describe the grieving process? I honestly think that the grieving process is a journey. I don’t know that it is a journey that ever ends. My mom died eight years ago, and I’m still grieving. One of the best comparisons I have heard is comparing grief to an ocean. At times, the waves are calm, and at times, they crash. All we can do is find some way to keep swimming. There are many models of grief in the counseling world, but I truly do not believe that it is a step-by-step process. I also don’t think anyone can look at anyone else who is grieving and honestly say, ‘I understand.’”