Tell Them Why You Wrote A Book
Why should anyone read it?
A note from Peter’s editor, Frances:
Hello all! You can RSVP for The Destination is Now book party HERE and pre-pay to receive an autographed copy at the party or mailed to you. We will send out direct ship purchase link after the publication party.
And now, back to Peter.
Just who the hell do I think I am, writing a book? Do I actually expect people to read it? First of all, I am not expecting very many people to read it, and I have to be okay with that. The value of my existence is affirmed with every breath I breathe as I breathe it. It would be very risky to count on some external measurement beyond that. With that said, I know I will feel affirmed every time someone bothers to get one and read it.
Part of the purpose of going through so much effort for so long has already been satisfied just in the writing of it. From the outset of my travels, I recognized that what I was doing could be framed as an adventure. The experiences felt dramatic to me and were interesting to those I shared them with. Comments suggesting I consider writing a book about the adventures planted the seed for the idea to take root. When I was writing, I felt the same feelings I had during the adventure, so it was worth doing, no matter what happens. Now that I have done it, my editor Frances suggested that in my next Substack, “I tell them why I wrote a book.”
I started thinking, struggling to come up with a cogent explanation for why I wrote it. The struggle resulted in a list of sixteen reasons, making the idea of a cogent explanation more difficult. They are all legitimate reasons. Last night, while having a couple of those mind-racing attacks during the night, the ones when your brain won’t shut up and let you sleep, an insight materialized. A couple of the sixteen answers converged. One was: The feeling of community I had with readers, as I had when writing my first blog. The other was: to affirm my existence on the planet.
When I was with Mary Ann 24/7 for two years during the last stages before her death, after 24 years with Parkinson's disease, I started writing a blog. The blog helped me process what we were going through, helping me locate life lessons and the inherent value of what I was doing. I wrote the blog in a way that was intended to express solidarity with those in similar circumstances. That meant not pretending to be the noble hero to be emulated, but the painfully imperfect caregiver struggling to deal with both the harsh realities of the task and the satisfaction that comes with doing it.
As time went by, I discovered that when things would go crazy and I felt helpless in the face of a seemingly impossible situation, I would immediately start thinking about what I was going to write about on the blog that night. It was as if I was not alone, as in the village it takes to raise a child. There were a few people who mentioned that they read my blog, just enough to make me feel part of a community, rather than isolated. Feeling a connection to the community, even if only in my mind, made a difference.
Since my Siblings are so much older than I, I was functionally an only child. I remember the day of our first whole family gathering, a pig roast, when I was in my thirties. All my Siblings and spouses were there with their children. We took a picture of all of us together. When I looked at that picture, my gut stirred as it dawned on me that I belong to a family. As the Pastor in three parishes over the years, I experienced community with the parishioners. However, after I retired and Mary Ann died, the landscape of my life changed. My children and grandchildren were thriving in their respective locations. My siblings and I continued to be spread out geographically. My parishioners had a new Pastor, who needed space to build a relationship with his parishioners. I traveled abroad and wrote posts for many people I had come to know in previous years, and then added others as I traveled. While the electronic connection does not include a tactile component, and those relationships are not the sort that would provide someone to call if “I’ve fallen and can’t get up!”, they still provide a community of sorts. I have met and formed a personal connection with almost all of them at some point.
A few people have already committed to or paid in advance for the book. That already satisfies the purpose of writing it. At least for a while, it will be tangible evidence that I exist in person, right here on this planet. Books have a shelf life. Even if it is only for a few months, I will get to be present in the lives of those who read it. Some of the stories that have shaped who I am will be experienced by others.
Why should anyone read it?
I have no illusions about my writing skills. Mary Ann was a reader. Lisa is a reader, and my granddaughters are readers. I believe that to be a truly skilled writer, one needs to be a reader. With that said, I am a communicator. It was my job for forty years. I write as I speak. It is my voice on the pages of the book.
I am constantly thinking, processing, listening, discovering, and reflecting on those discoveries. I love connecting disparate, seemingly unrelated views of reality. It is in those connections that wonder and awe sprout. When I see something through the lens of metaphor, it is not just a literary form; it is existential. It is somewhat similar to quantum entanglement. The marvel of the Universe is that everything dances to the same tune. (Ok, now I am mixing metaphors, so sue me.)
I have included several reflections throughout the book. There, I indulge myself and make connections that extend beyond the narrative of the adventures. Writing a book allows me to tell the stories with which I regale anyone who will listen. This way when they are getting bored with my need to share every detail, they can just shut the damn book without hurting my feelings.
There are various themes woven into the narrative:
To demonstrate the value of going on after a loss
To share a philosophy/theology that is congruent with science/Physics
To gain an understanding of past events from a present perspective
To foster an appreciation for staying active while growing older
To celebrate what aging brings to my perspective on life
To nourish a love of the natural world
To nurture an appreciation for the value of embracing struggle, grief, and joy
And to express the value of building relationships by providing examples of building them quickly and then sustaining them.
Most of all, I just want to invite the reader along for the ride as I immerse myself in each moment, living it as it arrives, celebrating the wonder to be found there. Each moment is the destination to which everything that has happened in the past has been leading.
Savor it!
Peter
I hope to see you on Sunday, June 8—location to be announced via email on June 1.
Congratulation on such an incredible accomplishment! 🥳