Grateful to get it write(right).

A writer writes what she knows from her life, her own experiences.  She writes with passion and honesty.

If she gets it right she hopes she will connect with even one reader.

She is grateful when she does.  It is remarkable that our lives can intersect so profoundly with people we have never even met.

This week I had this note from a reader.  I am grateful that I got it right and grateful that she let me know.  Lovely that she contacted me during this season of Thanks.

This little book out of print and still brings joy to readers and to me.

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I have always wondered what your experiences were that inspired you to write "When Africa Was Home." When curiosity finally led me to stumble across your website and bio, I felt like I should share with you how much your book has meant to me and my family.

My parents were missionaries in a remote area of Papua New Guinea. My sisters and I all grew up there and it was and is still our home. My mom tells us that when she first read a worn and tattered copy of your book one night in a missionary guest house, she finally understood what it was like for us kids. Every time that we went to visit America her and my Dad were going to their home, but we were leaving ours.

Ever since then your book has been a cherished book in our house. My sisters and I read it over and over again as children because it was the only book that told the story of our lives. Every experience that Peter had, we had. I remember my mom telling us about how we had to wear shoes in America, and that we could not longer eat with our hands. In America we played indoors, and there weren't any trees to climb. In your book. The first time that I heard a vacuum in America I leaped on my bed to get away from it.

Thank you for writing your book and telling our story.

Thankful for Diversity in my Life

Counting my blessings and shamelessly self promoting!

Check out this video discussion about books for children about refugees featuring Four Feet Two Sandals and My Name is Sangoel.

http://eerdlings.com/2015/11/19/coffee-break-confidential-refugee-revelations/

Coffee Break Confidential: Refugee Revelations
Posted by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. on November 19, 2015 in Coffee Break Confidential, Eerdfolk | 1 Comment
CoffeeBreakConfidential

And the interview with yours truly.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Where is Beatrice Now?

Sometimes our dreams change.  Beatrice did go to college but she did not train to be a nurse.

At Utali College she majored in Hotel Hospitality.

Now she works in the Hotel industry in Nairobi.

She is also continuing her education.




Here is Beatrice now.

What a lovely hard working young woman!  Courageous and determined.

And here is what Wendy Stone the photographer who illustrated Beatrice's Dream has to say about the journey:

Beatrice's Dream:  I first met Beatrice in 2006 when she was 13 years
old living in Kibera slum. I met a well known children's book writer,
Karen Williams, when she was a visiting author at my daughters school in
Nairobi. She was eager to write a book about a child living in a slum.
We found Beatrice through an NGO that I worked with in Kibera. Karen met
with her and wrote her story.  I spent one day with her photographing "a
day in the life of Beatrice".  Karen already had a literary agent for
her other books. We put together a proposal but it took 2 years for the
agent to find a publisher who was interested in the book.  Finally she
found one, and the publisher wanted many more photos of Beatrice. This
was in 2008 to 2009, right after the political riots in Kenya. Large
areas of Kibera burned to the ground and Beatrice was nowhere to be
found.  I had to take more photos. So I took the photos of Kibera and
her school and teachers and friends but without Beatrice being there. 
It worked! The publisher loved the photos and they approved the book.
But then the next hitch was that they needed her to sign a release
giving them permission to publish her story and photos. It took us one
year to find her. Finally in 2010 I managed to find her through an ad
that I ran in the daily newspaper with her photo titled Missing Child.
The next morning I received an anonymous phone call informing me that
Beatrice was a student at State House Girls Boarding School in Nairobi.
Fortunately she had a sponsor who was paying for her private schooling.
I went to visit her that same day but the school refused to let me see
her without the presence of her social worker, who was her guardian, at
the time. It took several attempts before I managed to meet with her. 
It was an emotional reunion and I was relieved to see her looking so
well.  The school would not let Beatrice sign a release form for the
book since she was still a minor and her social worker guardian was very
suspicious of my motives, most probably thinking that I was eager to
make money from this book. I had to hire a lawyer to intervene in the
case. The lawyer met with the Social Worker and finally he approved the
book. This happened just two weeks before the publisher's deadline, over
a period of several months. I met with Beatrice to show her the first
draft of the book for her final approval. She asked that I omit two
photos of her brother, which I agreed to.  After the book was published,
Beatrice graduated from school and lived with her guardian's family. I
was still living in Kenya at the time and was able to assist her in
visiting colleges and making decisions about her future.  The royalty
from the book paid for her education at Utalii College where she majored
in Hotel Hospitality.  She is now working in the hotel business in
Nairobi.

Greenwich Reads Together: I was there with Sangoel!

 Once at an author visit promoting one of my books, a grandmother said to me,  " My granddaughter is nothing like the girl in your book.  Why would I buy your book?"   I was speechless then but I have had time to think.   Look around your child's or grandchild's classroom.  It is probably the case that the child on at least one side of her is not of  the same race or socioeconomic class or same color as she is.  They may not speak the same first language.

Why read?  For entertainment, to learn about yourself, the world, to laugh, to cry, to share... 

And that is just what Greenwich, CT  is doing..the whole town!  My Name is Sangoel was chosen this year along with Americanah by Chimamande Ngozi Adiche for adults and Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate for mid-grades for the town read.

The National Center for Education Statistics reported that in 2014 more Latino, African American and Asian children were enrolled in US Public schools than non-Hispanic White children.

Indeed in one of the 5 schools I visited, there are children from 60 countries and they speak over 30 languages.

Here is what one mom had to say about my visit:  I just wanted to let you know that Lindsay could not wait to share the details from the author visit and about the book My Name is Sangoel.  It lead to a great discussion about refugee camps and especially what is happening in Syria right now.  How nice to have an author bring up such a relevant topic.   Thank you to everyone who found the author and brought her to Greenwich.

Shouldn't we be raising children ready for a future in a diverse world who can succeed in diverse communities and schools?  That is a question for the grandmother from that earlier author visit.  a question for all of us.

Greenwich, Connecticut gets it and the students there get it.
They read they discuss, the learn.  They have fun!

 Like Sangoel they are creative problem solvers.   I tried it too: