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Friday, November 3, 2017

Darkness to Light {CELEBRATE This Week: 216}

I'm glad you are here to celebrate! 

Share a link to your blog post below and/or use #celebratelu to share celebrations on Twitter. Check out the details hereCelebrate This Week goes live on Friday night around 10(ish). Consider it as a weekend celebration. Whenever it fits in your life, add your link. 

Please leave a little comment love for the person who links before you.
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I want to remember this moment. 

They are each holding a copy of my brand new book, Enticing Hard-to-Reach Writers. It's almost a little too much. 

These guys, the ones I share breathing space with, are the whole reason the book exists.

They didn't make it easy to write.

The kids each flipped through the book looking for the stories with their names.

I wrote a circular ending to Enticing Hard-to-Reach Writers. I didn't want to write a circular ending, but life has a way of turning things inside out.

I learned through blogging to write endings. I learned through blogging that sometimes, whether we're ready or not, the ending has to come. The same is true when writing books.

It's true for life, too.

Sometimes it's time for an ending and we don't want it. I know about that kind of ending. I've sat at too many funerals when the ending arrived and I didn't want it. 

The same was true for Enticing Hard-to-Reach Writers. It wasn't the ending I wanted, but it was the ending I had to offer when it was time for it to end.

This moment, the one where my kids from hard places held my book in their hands and read their stories of hope and courage, this moment feels right. 

"I like the way you wrote the acknowledgements," Andy said. "They gave me a little lump in my throat."

"It's not easy turning darkness to light," I said. 

"No," Andy agreed. "Your book, though, I think it has the potential to do just that -- to turn darkness to light."

I hope it does. I hope this book lands in hands across the globe. I hope it helps you turn darkness to light in your corner of the world. This world needs more light. And teachers are just the ones to shine it.

Through November 30, if buy the book and forward your receipt to enticingwriters{at}gmail{dot}com, you will receive a free registration to my new course, Enticing Writers Book Club.



11 comments:

  1. Congratulations friends, this post, this picture, your hearts have made darkness - light. Keep going and bless you all for sharing your story. Now I must buy it!

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  2. I love hearing that the kids looked for stories with their names and love the picture, of course! What fun for them to know how much you treasure those stories. Congratulations again. I have read more chapters, and know this book will be a support for many, Ruth.

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  3. I know your heart was full as you snapped this moment in time. My heart filled when I saw it. What a journey!

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  4. I've read some of it in the sample you sent, but I want an actual book and I want you to sign it. Will you be at NCTE? Will you have books?

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  5. Congratulations! Hold on to this joy.

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  6. I so enjoyed seeing your children's awe as they searched for their stories. I look forward to reading your book and gleaning strategies for reaching my writing students.

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  7. This made me cry. You are so real and so you and I love it. I know you went through so much as you were writing this book and here it is!!!! It's so special that your family gets to celebrate this with you. Can't wait to celebrate with you at NCTE!

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  8. This photo says it all, Ruth. Your whole family digging in deep to find the magic of what you wrote. Stories of real life-turning darkness to light-how special.

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  9. So happy for you, Ruth! I especially love that you shared your family celebration; I smiled the whole time I read about it. Though I've not posted on "Celebrate" for several crazy months, I have been following your journey to this day. Congratulations! May you be blessed even as you are blessing so many.

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  10. So glad my book arrived this week. Love these words from your post: "This moment, the one where my kids from hard places held my book in their hands and read their stories of hope and courage, this moment feels right." Can't wait to share the book with my niece.

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I {heart} comments. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.