WdC Survivor Entry #3

1. What does the person look like - all the way down to the last detail? Do they have any scars? If they do, where'd they come from? What other odd traits might they have?

         Alice O'Briant pays meticulous attention to her appearance. Everything must always be neat and orderly, from the tight braid for her shoulder-length raven hair, to her flawless porcelain skin, to her designer business suits that are always flawlessly pressed and lint free. She does have one scar from a bicycle accident as a child, but it's mercifully on the right side of her abdomen, hidden under her trademark blouse and jacket. Alice doesn't leave her apartment in the morning if she isn't looking her best. It's her job to exude confidence and professionalism, and never, ever allows that veneer to crack.


2. What happened in this person's past to make them who they are today? Were they divorced, abused, loved, cared for, pushed away, etc?

         From a young age, Alice always knew that she wanted to help people; just not in that become-a-police-officer, join-the-army, volunteer-at-a-convalescent-home-on-the-weekends kind of way. She wanted to help people in the make-money-and-become-famous kind of way as well. With her dual Masters Degrees in English Composition and Behavioral Psychology, she set out to become one of the most influential and successful self-help gurus of all time.

         Ironically, Alice came from a healthy, happy family. She was well cared for and the family never wanted for anything. What inspired her decision to become a self-help guru was the unhappiness she saw all around her; friends living with single parents, divorces, abuse, broken homes. She didn't understand why people didn't have her idyllic life. Once she went to college and got out in the world, she realized that life wasn't always as simple and easy as her family made it seem. And therein lay the inspiration for her self-help regimen. She would share with the world what made her family so happy, so successful, and teach other people how to have wonderful families like hers.


3. What kind of temperament do they have, and why? Does it have something to do with their past?

         Alice tries to maintain a calm and collected exterior. She needs to be in control and seem like she has all the answers. The one weakness she saw in her parents growing up was that they never really seemed to aspire to anything. They were happy in their mundane jobs (her mother was a receptionist and her father was an accountant), but never seemed to aspire to be anything more. Alice, on the other hand, has lofty aspirations and big dreams, which can sometimes override her feeling of control. When she doesn't feel like she's in control of a situation she can be short-tempered, pessimistic, and snap at people. She always catches herself as quickly as possible and smoothes over the wrinkles, but anyone who's been around her during stressful times knows that her emotions are sometimes just barely restrained.


4. How would they react in the following situations?

         

a. A divorce (Fantasy: the disappearance of a spouse)

         Alice actually is divorced. Her biggest regret and darkest secret is that, while she preaches happiness and successful relationships to millions of people around the world, she couldn't stop her own marriage from imploding. Her husband left her after he started feeling like she put her career ahead of him, especially when they had trouble conceiving a child. Her failed marriage hasn't come to light (so far), and she's dreading the day that it might come out. She worries that it might ruin her career. She can already see the headlines. "So-called self-help guru can't keep her own husband." It's a source of constant anxiety and trepidation.


b. Someone cheating on him/her

         She couldn't imagine what her life would have been like if her husband had cheated on her. Mercifully, he left her on his own and without the arms of another woman waiting for him. If she had been cheated on, it would have been devastating to her psyche. She's always considered herself a strong, independent and driven woman; the idea that her husband found a "better" woman than her would have destroyed her. She sometimes wonders if her husband was lying about not having another woman on the side, and it's a doubt that constantly nags at her.


c. A robbery

         Pure and total meltdown. Alice has to be in control. She needs situations that she can have some say over, so the idea of being caught up in a robbery, helpless as someone else dictated what she could and couldn't do, terrifies her. As much as she likes to project this air of confidence and superiority, the reality is that she would probably be nearly catatonic with fear and anxiety if, for example, someone walked into a bank and started waving a gun while she was waiting to deposit a check.


d. Finding out that someone s/he love loves him/her back

         Alice's entire business is based around convincing people that there's someone out there for them, and that their special someone can become their life partner. But with the departure of her husband, she's starting to doubt herself... starting to doubt everything about her life. She used to think that her family had it backwards; that with no aspirations and lofty goals, that they were somehow lacking something. But now she's starting to wonder if she's the one that has it backwards; if all her planning and time spent on her career – which cost her a marriage to a wonderful man – is what's keeping her from finding the true love she tells all of her clients and readers about.


e. Winning the lottery (what would they do with the money?) (Fantasy: Happening upon an unusually large amount of money.)

         If she won the lottery, Alice would reinvest the money in her career. She's never had any plans to buy a yacht or an oversized mansion in an exclusive neighborhood; but she's always needing more money to further her career. A bigger book tour, larger bookings on bigger shows, a wider release for her next book. Fantasizing isn't really Alice's strong suit; it's meticulously planning and forecasting.

f. S/he has been wronged in some other way - does s/he forgive easily?

         Alice can forgive, but she never forgets. In her books, she encourages people to let bygones be bygones, but also espouses the idea that – in order to be independent and strong – you have to stick to your guns and hold people to their word. Forgiveness is something that has to be earned... and she doesn't make it easy for anyone.


5. What kind of friends do they keep, if they keep any? Does s/he actually trust his/her friends, or are they there for convenience?

         Alice doesn't really have friends. She has colleagues and associates and contacts, but very few people that she can call friends. Her career has largely sidelined her social calendar, so the people she spends most of the time with are people she works with. While she gets along with almost everyone, there aren't any true friends there, at least in the sense that they can be counted on to go far above and beyond their own self interests. Along with her failed marriage, Alice often wonders if she needs to reevaluate the people in her life who claim to be her friends... and what friendship truly means.