100 Pages In

I have decided to write a book.  Lets hope that at this time next year it is finished, but hey I'm writing a book.  I honestly wasn't getting too serious about telling folks until I hit the 100 page mark.  Now I'm there and things are getting real.  I don't have a publisher so yes, I'm doing this the hard way.

What's it about?  Is it a revolutionary new way to educate kids or lead schools?  That's not the intent, but I suppose it could be used for those purposes.  It is a deep dive into the changing political landscape and how dysfunctional it has become?  No, but it definitely provides policy recommendations to help people.  So what's the book about?  It is about my story and how it can shape other people's stories.  I'm a big Kevin Smith fan and I stumbled across this quote that empowered me to believe my story was valuable.

I am a product of generational poverty.  I am a survivor and now occupy the middle class.  I used to not give much thought to how I made it, but now that I look back on the cast and crew of my story I know this was no accident.  I'm not a rags to riches story of an inner city kid that made into professional sports.  I'm a little less boring, but my journey was aided by tremendous people and opportunities.  

In my book I will tell my childhood story and what it was like growing up in a rural area in a poor, non-traditional family.  Those experiences have taught me what people need to do to lift others up and prevent the cycles of poverty that keep people out of the middle class.  Many of the social ills that keep people in poverty can be addressed in a meaningful way.  I will look at being fatherless, being a free lunch kid at school and being a low wage worker.  With each chapter I will ask and answer a guiding question such as, Can post secondary education be a pathway out of poverty?  My colleagues know the answer to this, but I will use my experience and available data to show why.

Who knows?  Maybe I will get published and sell a million books.  Or maybe just a 100 books.  Either way, I want to tell my unique story and maybe help others in the process.  This writing stuff is difficult but rewarding and I have gained a lot of respect for authors.  I am excited about the prospect of becoming one of them.

Selfishly, I would like to ask for help.  The last chapter is about people like me.  If you know anyone that would like to be a case study for the book, please send them my way.  They can email me at ccass810@gmail.com.