I just finished reading a touching book by Bryan Nash, called "A Phoenix Rising the Defining Moments: The True Story of a Child's Triumph over Abandonment and Abuse." Bryan's story touched my heart, in large measure, because he is the same age as me and because I know that the experiences he describes as growing up as an abused child in Orange County, California ring true.
I remember what it was like to feel the February 9, 1971 earthquake rattles through our home in Newhall California like a freight train running through the front yard. I've been in a couple of earthquakes since then but never anything like that.
Today, Bryan is using his book to call attention to the plight of children who age out of the foster care system without the normal tools to find work, settle in apartments, and maintain the financial security needed to become a safe and secure member of society. This task is not all that easy even for those of us who have reasonably loving parents.
Like George Washington or Mahatma Gandhi, Bryan is starting to discover that having a book published opens doors for him and attracts followers to his charity and larger cause. Also, I think the practice of writing out your life as a book has a certain healing impact on the individual psychologically. It allows them to reframe their life in terms of their present success and their aspirations for the future.
Although I make a living as a grant writer, I can't help but think that the founders of charities would be greatly advantaged if they set aside time each morning to work on writing out their life story. In the end, this simple practice might be more important to the financial success of their charity than anything I can do as a grant writer.
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