What Meg Murry Taught Me About Being Myself (Even When It’s Awkward)

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When I first read Madeleine L’Engle’s classic novel, A Wrinkle in Time, I was struck by one detail right away: Meg Murry’s father was a physicist. So was mine.

Not many people I knew even understood what a physicist did. But here was this brave, scrappy girl with wild hair and a bad temper, and her father was like mine. Suddenly, I didn’t feel so alone. Even though the book had been written long before I picked it up, nothing about it felt old. The feelings, the fears, the family dynamics, they all felt like they could be happening right now.

I wanted to be Meg. She was awkward and angry and fiercely loyal. She defended her little brother, she stumbled through space and time, and she kept going. And now, all these years later, I find myself looking at A Wrinkle in Time with new eyes. Especially at Mrs. Murry. But more on her in a minute.

Here are the lessons I carry from Meg Murry, then and now.

It’s Okay to Be Angry and Still Be Good

Meg felt everything out loud. She cried, yelled, pouted. She said the wrong things and got frustrated with herself. But never once did that make her less lovable.

She wasn’t the polite, perfect girl often seen in books from that era. She was messy and real. And still, she saved the day.

As a kid, that gave me permission to stop pretending I had it all together. As a woman in midlife, it reminds me that feelings don’t disqualify us from strength.

“Maybe I don’t like being different,” Meg said. “But I don’t want to be like everybody else, either.”

Your Strength Might Not Look Like Theirs

Charles Wallace was brilliant. Calvin was charming. Meg? She had math, stubbornness, and love. Not exactly glamorous.

But her unique blend of strengths was exactly what the universe needed. She didn’t have to be the smartest or the smoothest. She just had to show up as herself.

That’s a good reminder for anyone who’s ever felt a little behind or overlooked. The world needs the exact flavor of strength you bring.

For most of my life, I’ve loved writing, all kind of writing: short stories, full-length novels, little scraps of imagined worlds. But somewhere along the way, I convinced myself it didn’t count. I wasn’t a real writer unless I sold a book or made a career out of it. And I didn’t want that kind of pressure. I just wanted to write for joy.

So eventually, I pushed the stories aside. I told myself they weren’t real. That I wasn’t real.

For years, I didn’t write anything. Not a page. Not a paragraph. But a couple of years ago, something in me shifted. I picked up the pen again and decided I’d write exactly what I wanted. And I wrote unapologetically, joyfully, exactly what I wanted.

And it changed everything.

The joy I feel when I write now bubbles up and spills over into the rest of my life. It reminds me that my strength doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. It just has to be mine.

“Sparkle in the middle of ordinary.”

Love Is a Superpower, Not a Weakness

It was Meg’s love for Charles Wallace that saved him. Not a fancy machine or clever riddle. Just love.

Love is often seen as soft, especially when it comes from women. But in this story, it’s the most powerful force of all. And that felt revolutionary to me, even as a child.

As adults, we sometimes forget that love is enough. That standing by someone, fiercely and faithfully, is its own kind of heroism.

“You have something that IT has not. This something is your only weapon.”

You Don’t Have to Know Everything to Be Brave

Meg didn’t have a plan when she went back for Charles Wallace. She was scared. She made mistakes. But she still went.

Courage isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about showing up anyway. Especially when someone you love is in trouble.

As women, we’re often taught to wait until we’re 100% ready before we try something new. But Meg teaches us that being “ready” is overrated.

Mrs. Murry Was the Quiet Hero

Now that I’m older, I see Mrs. Murry differently. She was a scientist. A mother. A woman who kept going when her husband vanished and the neighbors whispered.

She stayed. She cooked on a Bunsen burner and wrote love letters she couldn’t send. She never stopped believing.

That’s the kind of everyday bravery that doesn’t make headlines. But it shapes families. It holds worlds together.

And maybe it’s the kind of bravery we live every day without even noticing.

Still Learning From Meg (and Her Mother)

Meg Murry reminded me that it’s okay to feel deeply, to be different, to love fiercely. Mrs. Murry taught me that quiet strength matters just as much as loud courage.

If you haven’t read A Wrinkle in Time in a while, maybe it’s time to pick it up again. You might see yourself in Meg. Or in her mother. Or in both.

I reread it a few years ago with my daughters. They weren’t much younger than Meg was in the story. Seeing her through their eyes was a marvel.

They noticed the same stubborn, frustrated girl I had once adored. They cried over Meg’s school troubles, held their breath during her search for her father, and cheered when it was Meg, the girl who never quite fit in, who saved Charles Wallace, her father, and maybe even a whole planet.

Meg is a heroine outside of time. For every girl who ever felt like she wasn’t good enough, Meg whispered the truth: It’s your heart that counts. She showed a whole generation of girls, and the ones that came after, that being different isn’t a flaw. It’s the beginning of everything brave.

A Gentle Gift for Brave Hearts

If Meg reminded you of your own quiet strength or tender bravery, I made something just for you. You Are the Crown is a free printable filled with soft affirmations and soul-soothing prompts.

It’s a little nudge to remember what Mrs. Murry already knew about her daughter, that you’re strong, radiant, and more than enough just as you are.

Because you don’t need to know everything. You just need to know you.