EVERY DAY LIFE AND WRITING

Almost fifteen years ago I was fortunate enough to find FREE RIVER PRESS (FRP) on line. FRP is a small publishing house in the heart of Iowa. I learned some things from that experience that have stuck with me ever since.  Publisher and Executive Director of FRP Bob Wolf's core philosophy is this: as a society Americans have been conditioned to believe that only celebrities have life stories worth telling.  Wolf argues some of the best and most meaningful life stories can be found among everyday, ordinary people.  I'll give you two examples.  Several years ago I conducted two interviews with two elderly persons.  One told me about growing up in the Midwest during World War II and the night her father was murdered on his way home from work, and how after high school she set out for LA from a small prairies town, to find her fame and fortune. Eventually, along the way, she found her husband.  The other story involved a very difficult life lived by the interviewee with a spouse who was alcoholic.  Her life was an admittedly depressing tale, but one I don't regret hearing about. What's the point?  These are opportunities for writers to capture some real stuff from real people everywhere.  One gains a greater appreciation of the pageant of life from everyday "common folk." Again, compelling life stories are everywhere.  You just have to be creative and energized enough to go uncover them. Start by telling the elders in your own family just how much you value their life stories, that those stories should be shared/ captured before too much more time passes.  Please visit http://www.freeriverpress.org to learn more about FREE RIVER PRESS.  In the summer of 2015 Bob Wolf will publish IN SEARCH OF AMERICA, a story about his travels in America when he was a youth, available in paperback and KINDLE format at www.amazon.com. I look forward to reading this book. Rod Haynes