Green Brothers Go Blue and Gold
Far right; John Green began the show by reading an excerpt from his new book Turtles All the Way Down. In it he told how his story was similar to Aza’s, the main character, in regards to mental health. Top middle; When asked how to stay positive, Hank Green encouraged people to focus on the little things. He said although life can seem bleak, friends always make him happier. Bottom middle; The Cincinnati stop of the Turtles All the Way Down tour was sold out. Some of the attendees included two newly engaged people, many WHHS teachers, and students. Far left; John Green reads a chapter from his new book Turtles All the Way Down. Each person who bought a ticket and attended recieved a signed copy of the book.Far right; John Green began the show by reading an excerpt from his new book Turtles All the Way Down. In it he told how his story was similar to Aza’s, the main character, in regards to mental health. Top middle; When asked how to stay positive, Hank Green encouraged people to focus on the little things. He said although life can seem bleak, friends always make him happier. Bottom middle; The Cincinnati stop of the Turtles All the Way Down tour was sold out. Some of the attendees included two newly engaged people, many WHHS teachers, and students. Far left; John Green reads a chapter from his new book Turtles All the Way Down. Each person who bought a ticket and attended received a signed copy of the book.
October 20, 2017
On Wednesday Oct. 18, Joseph Beth Booksellers brought John and Hank Green to WHHS as part of their tour promoting John Green’s newest book, Turtles All the Way Down.
Together they have been internet phenomena since 2007. They are the faces and brains behind the educational Youtube channel Crash Course as well as the more personal channel, vlogbrothers. Hank Green also produces the channel SciShow.
The community that John and Hank Green have built was extremely present at the show. A highlight was when a couple, who met at John and Hank Green’s show in Cincinnati five years ago, was invited to the stage to get engaged. “That’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever been a part of,” John said.
Turtles All The Way Down is a fast paced mystery that follows Aza Holmes and addresses her struggle with mental illness, which was inspired by John Green’s own experience.
John Green said that growing up he did not have the language to express his fears. “[Obsessive Compulsive Disorder] made me feel like a passenger in my own consciousness,” he said. One of his main goals in writing Turtles All the Way Down was to help readers to not feel alone.
“It took me a long time…to find an expression for the experience of obsessive thought spirals, or at least how Aza experiences them in the book. It’s something I’ve tried to write about before and I’ve never had any success, and finally I felt like I had language for it… I also realized that I’m not the only person who has this problem, it’s something a lot of people live with,” Green said.
John Green’s brother, Hank Green, is his partner in many endeavors. He is a musician, producer, entrepreneur and a notable online influencer. At the show, Hank Green not only played music, but played the role of Professor Lawrence Turtleman, who gave a lecture on taxonomy and phylogeny alluding to Turtles All the Way Down.
During the show he took a moment to remind the audience that mental health was treatable, and that people do get better. He used himself as an example, recounting his experiences using medicine.
Hank Green also involved the audience in his singing. He performed some of his own songs, including “A Song About An Anglerfish”, but also encouraged the audience to sing along to songs such as “Sweet Caroline” but omitted the chorus, and called it a “bonding moment” for the audience.
During the show the brothers even performed segments of their podcast, Dear Hank and John, while answering audience questions. John Green even poked fun at Ohio, asking why have grass fields when “We’re in Ohio, make some corn!”
When asked if he created realities for his characters after ending their stories, John Green said, “No. That seems like it’s your problem.” He said that when finishing a book, he needs to feel content with how he left the characters. Without spoiling the ending for fans, John said that he felt differently about the ending of Turtles All the Way Down than he did with his other books.
They held a question and answer segment as well. John Green advised future authors to read, allow themselves to “suck”, and to remember that writers are regular people and there are many careers in writing.
