Where Healing is Found
I keep thinking about the movie, “The Outrun,” which my husband and I watched on Netflix on Saturday night. First, Saoirse Ronan is a magnificent actress…and she is on camera almost this entire movie, playing a young woman experiencing and then recovering from alcoholism and a traumatic childhood.
Her healing begins when she moves, temporarily, from London to the Orkney Islands. There she lives in a small cottage in a small town. The weather is bleak - cold, gray, and damp - and there is not much to do (though the community around her is warmly supportive and accepting.)
Sometimes she goes for a swim in the ocean. I thought of how many people are now recommending cold plunges or short cold swims, especially for those living with depression. The first time she dives into the cold water, Ronan’s character Rona comes to life. She begins barking to the seals; we see joy on the face of this woman who once wondered, “Can I ever be happy sober?”
“The Outrun” is based on a memoir; it’s at least in part a real-life story which draws me to it even more. I am fascinated by the way people face life challenges, the decisions they make and why. In my own real life, I would have suggested therapy for Rona. In fact, I would probably have not believed it possible for her to find healing without it.
In one scene, it’s dark outside, the wind is howling, but Rona is sitting in her warm kitchen, sketching seaweed, researching environmental studies, tap-tap-tapping at her laptop. She has developed a fascination with the ocean and eventually decides to pursue an advanced degree. Her face is intensely passionate.
When her mother comes to visit, we wonder how it will go - their relationship has been fraught. But Rona has made bread, using her mother’s recipe, and they sit down for bread and jam and tea, and then they go swimming together.
“The Outrun” felt like more than recovery; it felt like rebirth and hope, it felt like new life…but then again I’m sure that’s what recovery feels like for one who has been lost to addiction. Rona was healed by nature, by solitude, through discovering her own intellectual curiosity again.
Among other things, “The Outrun” testifies to the healing qualities of life’s simple basic gifts: making food, appreciating nature, pursuing meaningful work, engaging with one’s neighbors.