One of my writing heroes is Linda Sue Park. For one thing, she writes so beautifully – simple, clear, pure, and filled with emotional weight. (She’s also skilled at teaching writing craft, BTW.) But for another thing, she recognizes the importance of words and their potential impact on the world.
Her novel, A Long Walk to Water, is based on true stories of the difficulty of obtaining water – essential to life – in north/central Africa. After she wrote it, the power of her story became clear, as children across the globe responded to the need for easy access to water.
If you’ve never seen Linda Sue’s TEDx talk, it’s worth a watch:
Change the World
Using insight and a dose of magic to change the world, one book at a time.
There’s a reason I love that phrase and use it as my personal motto. I aspire to write a book that could make a difference, to impact the world in the way that A Long Walk to Water does.
This is my fervent hope for Carry Me Home. That my book would (a) give voice to the need for remedies to homelessness, and (b) give Lulu her voice, to reach out for the help that she wants. And in addition, to encourage kids, wherever they are and in whatever circumstances, to know that help is out there.
A Very Important Moment: Now
At the very moment I write this post, people across this country are dealing with possible eviction from their homes, due to repercussions from the pandemic. We cannot not fault the landlords; they have bills to pay, too. The problem is that for too long we’ve ignored the problem of affordable housing.
I say when I am signing my book, ‘Everyone should have a home’, and I truly believe that.
All of Us: Let’s Do It
Those of us who can – we all need to raise our voices in alarm that some among us have 4 or 5 luxurious homes, and some sleep in their cars.
Among other things, the very people we rely on all the time – waitstaff, delivery people, cooks, grocery clerks, store workers, skilled laborers, hospital workers, home healthcare workers, and more – all those folks are being shut out of affordable housing. This is not about people who can work but don’t, but about people who want to work but can’t.
Can’t, because they can’t live where the work exists. I see this first-hand in the restaurants and stores in my small city in a rural state, where businesses simply cannot get help and must close early, or entirely.
For every copy of Carry Me Home that is pre-ordered from my indie Country Bookshelf, I will donate my percentage earnings to our local non-profit for the homeless, HRDC.
Pre-order a Signed Copy of CARRY ME HOME
Please help me support measures that support affordable housing. Please help me raise awareness about the homeless. Share this message, if you can.
Most especially, let’s think about the children. With deepest thanks.