Defining Moments

Someone asked me a question not too long ago that really had me thinking.

"Has a book ever truly changed you?"

At first, I wanted to say that, of course, every book had changed me. But that wouldn't be exactly truthful. True, there were books in my youth that shaped me... inspired me. I've enjoyed many, many hours with many, many books -  I've traveled to distant lands, met remarkable characters and luxuriated in soaking up every one of these stories. I love to read. Anyone who knows me, KNOWS THAT.
I've been immensely entertained countless numbers of times and though I love, absolutely love, being carried into each storyworld and feeling all the emotions that go along with a story well told, not all the books that I read enter my veins.
All of the stories that I've been fortunate enough to read - and then recommend to others - were truly appreciated for their own worth in our private time together. A handful of them stayed with me afterwards, lingering for days, weeks.... months.   But had any book truly changed me?

Two had.

It was the quick answer in my mind. Two books had made me sit up, look around, and think 
"...Wait. What?..."
Two brought defining thoughts of "What shall I do - what can I do - with this information?"

Every person is different. Readers are fond of particular styles or particular voices, certain elements or preferred storyworlds. No one agrees on everything, right? Right?
Well, not usually.
I think there are some stories, though - that have the muscle to defeat the odds. They cross boundaries and jump age gaps and elbow their way into every reader's heart or mind,, regardless of their core reading preferences. Because what some books say really truly matter - even in a fictional storyworld.
And that's because their message - the point of their story - is very important.

Here, let me share.

Hats off to my good friends Michael Buchanan, Diane Lang, Jason Winn and Christopher Rivera,  to Sleeping Bear Press and Tin Roof Films - just for starters.
They impressed me to no end with their combined efforts to send out a powerful message and the way they chose to do it  - so that it would be well received by both kids and adults. They did this by putting the focus on a couple of real-life issues that are all too often taken way too lightly and delivering it in an interesting book for middle graders. Here is a book that should be required reading in middle grade school systems... it will make a difference... actually IT HAS made huge differences in countless lives of children.

http://thefatboychronicles.com/news/

It started as a conversation between two writers and a stranger who wanted to share a story. The story of being bullied.   The story became a book.  The book touched a man's heart.  It became a script. Then a movie. It happened quickly once the story was revealed. Because it had amazing content. Because the timing was perfect. Because it chronicles a young boy's journey inside the halls of today's so-secret world of high school, exposing subtle ways in which we, the adults (parents and teachers), are failing our children - and how they, our children, are harming themselves - and others. Readers and those who've seen the film are all left feeling that they had a role in the story. They were the victim. They were - or had been -the bully.  Or they were the one looking the other way. Whatever the role, they all feel one other thing... that they should DO something.  Read this story, then share it and the message it contains with young people, parents and teachers...  witness for yourself how powerful it is...  it will change your life and theirs.
              

Here's the inside scoop, the behind the scenes info on the impact this story had in my hometown...  it was amazing!      http://www.firesidebooksandgifts.com/fbc.html

http://firesidebooks.indiebound.com/book/9781585365432


Then there is the book my friend,  Willliam Forstchen,  blessed us with a couple of years ago.
Mr. Forstchen is a Professor at Montreat College in North Carolina. He received his doctorate from Purdue University with specializations in Military History, the American Civil War and the History of Technology. He is the author of more than forty books - all wonderfully written - but I must say,
this one - One Second After .... Holy Cow - what an eye-opening read!
                                                             
Not only is Mr. Forstchen a wonderful story teller, but an amazing historian as well. His way of weaving in historical similarities (and even movie recollections) that everyone can relate to only add to the impact of his story ~ a story about survival that draws us in and steals our breath. A story that describes a landscape, a shattered world, that none of us want to imagine... but we do. 
I found myself turning back to particular passages time and again and thinking, "oh-my-god... who's prepared for this?"or "Oh, he's right - THAT is the way it would happen."  This story offers the combined experience of reading a wonderful, beautifully written novel  - while sitting through a sort of final exam that is preparing you for a life changing catastrophic event... instructing you on the ways to fight for your community, your family and your life.
http://firesidebooks.indiebound.com/book/9780765356864
It changed the way I looked at things.  It made me THINK.   It'll make you think, too.
My only question is how long will it be before you go out and stock up on things like canned food, kerosene lamps, flashlights and batteries and medical supplies? How long before you make little changes in your home ... just in case.

Oh, one last thing - you can find these guys on Facebook, GoodReads, Twitter... and you'll find me following all of them!