Have you ever been so moved by something, you immediately think, what medium do I have that will suit the expression of this feeling? For me, I have music, I have painting on the walls, I have writing books—all of which are about to be impacted—but for this particular expression, I’m additionally doing something I never have. Call it a blog post, call it a book review, sure. But it’s neither. It’s a declaration that this book, Watching Evil Dead: Unearthing the Radiant Artist Within, is the single most important book to my creative life. And I’m compelled to write down somewhere, in some length, why that’s the case. 

To get the most out of this book, it helps to be head over heels in love with art, head over heels in love with your partner, or both. I’m lucky enough to be both, so this dual love letter to art and Allison is gasoline to the fire in my soul. It’s a celebration. A reminder. But honestly, if you’re in a rough patch with art and your feelings are sticky and questionable, this could be exactly what you need in that case as well. 

Josh’s dedication to keeping his art in a safe locked away from negativity and expectation is something inspiring. But even inspiration, as Josh puts it so eloquently in this book, is “an inverted monster,” and isn’t something we need. It isn’t the breath of our work. Still, I’d be lying if I said this book didn’t inspire me and won’t continue to do so for a long time. Maybe it’s less inspiration and more motivation. I’m someone who listens to Josh’s podcast interviews because his words about art and life motivate me to DO, so Watching Evil Dead’s sole focus being art and life through Josh’s lens is like seeking out a single cookie and landing in a bakery. I overindulged, and I feel like a better person for it.

Is that dramatic?  To call myself a better person because of a book? Well, maybe. But I think we all could be better people because of books. And this one in particular made me cry four times. It made me text my husband, Grant, more times than I can count. Because in this book, I feel seen. More specifically, my love feels seen. 

Before Grant and I were a couple, we were friends. We went from friends straight to engaged. We were purchasing baby car seats and baby monitors before we even had a house or a plan to have a baby. We had a house before we were married. Our wedding was already planned and scheduled before I received an engagement ring. All within a year and a half. All because there was something unexplainable between us that neither one of us cared to explain. We just acted on it and cherished it.  We still do. We have never been people who follow rules, nor have we been the sort of people who devalue art. No. We film each other fully clothed in an ink black lake at night for music video’s sake. Grant encourages me to paint on the walls, we make music together, we make music separate, we transform ourselves into tree monsters.  I write books and he reads them. This chaotic, artful relationship isn’t something I always see, but I see it in Josh and Allison. And when I read the way he talks about her, I feel it in my bones.

Mushy stuff aside, Josh is prolific and shameless and he lets me know those are fine things to be. If someone can’t keep track of you because you’re doing so much—great! If someone doesn’t understand what you’re doing—fine. That doesn’t mean you need to slow down or reevaluate. I’ve already seen a review of this book where Josh is referred to as sounding “self important,” but why, oh why should we be self unimportant? 

I read this in two days, highlighting sentences and paragraphs as I went because I’ll no doubt be revisiting the words. And when I woke up the day after finishing it, I started a brand new project. A screenplay. I’ve never written a screenplay before, but I felt completely equipped to begin. I felt shameless to begin despite having no experience with it. I told Grant how much I love him. I hope all artists and lovers feel just as refreshed from Watching Evil Dead: Unearthing the Radiant Artist Within.

I hope if you read this, even if all you have left is a spark, it ignites you. And if you already have a fire blazing within, I hope you feel its warmth as you read the beautiful words of a twin flame.

I know I did.