Very few authors find fame through their work, but one author who has become a household name and amassed an army of dedicated fans around the world is JK Rowling, the British author best known for the best-selling Harry Potter series of books and films; books with almost unparalleled appeal and popularity amongst the generations who grew up with the expansive Harry Potter Universe that played out before us on page and on screen for almost 15 years, across seven books and eight films.
Rowling has always been good to her fans, frequently taking time out from her busy life (mostly writing for her latest book series, the Cormoran Strike detective novels) to interact with her fans on Twitter, and recently went as far to handwrite a quote for a devoted Harry Potter fan to get tattooed on their body, after the fan shared her inspirational and heartbreaking story with the writer.
The fan, called Kate, reached out to Rowling over Twitter and told her about her troubled life, ranging from sexual assault to suicide attempts. Sharing with Rowling about her fight to stop self harming the fan went on to tell the writer that she intended to tattoo the words “Expecto Patronum” – a Harry Potter spell to combat the Dementors, the fictional entities in Harry Potter whose presence are enough to rid the room of hope and happiness, and force a feeling of depression and melancholy upon their victims before sucking their soul from their body – somewhere on her skin, and asked if Rowling would share a picture of the spell written in her own handwriting.
@jk_rowling i wanna get 'expecto patronum' tattooed & it'd mean the world if it was in ur handwriting. here's why:') pic.twitter.com/fhldRiju3w
— Kate ???? (@hereforparrilla) May 11, 2016
Clearly touched by Kate’s candid honesty and heartbreaking story, Rowling promptly replied to the request and attached a picture of the words in her handwriting just as asked, telling the fan “You deserve this.”.
.@AlwaysJLover I love that you're working to heal and protect yourself. You deserve this. I hope it helps. pic.twitter.com/T2nDG3z2MJ
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 11, 2016
Understandably, Kate was over the moon to have received a reply from one of the worlds most prominent authors, and took to Twitter once again to share her joy.
i promise to keep fighting the dementors inside & outside my head. but I wouldn't have the strength to do so without you, @jk_rowling.
— Kate ???? (@hereforparrilla) May 13, 2016
books can save lives. literally. @jk_rowling's books, and the woman herself, saved mine.
— Kate ???? (@hereforparrilla) May 13, 2016
We love a good heartwarming story like this, and agree wholeheartedly with JK Rowling that Kate definitely deserves this!
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