Bust Through and Bloom

It's been three years since the Boston Marathon bombing wreaked havoc on the lives of many. The incident occurred about two years after the publication of The Running Dream, where the life of Jessica, the main character, is changed forever when her leg is crushed in a bad accident and has to be amputated. I spent two years researching, writing, interviewing, submerging. For so many reasons, I wanted to get the details right.

And then the Boston bombing happened. I wanted so badly to help, knowing that their lives would be a struggle both in physical recovery, but also in finding a life beyond the nightmare and injustice. I wrote about it in the post Why I Keep Wearing the Same Three Outfits.

It's one thing to write a story about a character who has the strength to endure the agonies of a cruel twist of fate, it's another to watch real people do so. Not personally knowing any of the victims, I could only follow via social media or the news...from afar. And then there was the remarkable connection I wrote about in It's a Small World After All, where one of the bombing victims turned out to be the daughter of a bookseller I met on my very first book tour.

And that connection drove home another horrible facet: Imagine being the mom.

I tear up just thinking about it.

But then imagine witnessing your daughter not just survive, but develop a determination to walk again, dance again, life a full life again...and then somehow bloom in ways you could not even have dreamed of.

I try to track all the victims, but the two I want to spotlight today are Heather Abbott, who has done guest speaker assemblies at schools who have used The Running Dream as an all-school read, and Adrianne Haslet-Davis, who's mom is the bookseller I mentioned. Both have found ways to bust through their circumstances and bloom.

Heather now helps provide others with specialized prostheses. You can read about her and her love of stilettos (really!) in this People Magazine article.

You might have seen Adrianne on Dancing with the Stars, or on Anderson Cooper, but this Monday please root her on as she takes to the streets of Boston to run the marathon. (There's a news program about her here.) She's running in association with the Limbs for Life foundation to which you can donate if you are so inclined.

I know people who have become bitter and miserable because of things much less life-altering than what the innocent bystanders at the Boston marathon were hit with. Adrianne and Heather show us that there's a choice you make in your heart when faced with the cruel things life may throw at you. Are you going to give in to the unfairness of it? Let it destroy you? Or are you going to bust through and bloom?

What you have to go through to move on may seem impossible, impractical, or totally unfair, but it's really the only option for a happy life.

Find a way. Bust through and bloom.

Thanks for checking in. I look forward to meeting up with you in the comments. Meanwhile, Go Runners! #BostonStrong

Why I Keep Wearing The Same 3 Outfits

The Boston Marathon bombings shook me up on a lot of levels. Having run 6 marathons myself, I know what a huge deal it is to cross a marathon finish line. The marathon (any marathon) is a celebration of lengthy, dedicated training.

Well, it's a painful, exhausting celebration, but still.

The senseless violence at the finish line would have shaken me up, regardless, but having some experience with what it means to complete a marathon (and what it means to have people on the sidelines supporting the effort) greatly magnified the impact on me.

And then there were the victims. That sweet-looking 8 year old boy who lost his life, and then all those people who lost limbs. Having researched and written The Running Dream, I'm acutely aware of what adapting to the loss of a limb will mean to these people, and it set me on a mission last week to send them money to help out. There's been good coverage on TV and now it's swirling around the Internet, and their funds are growing. Some even seem full. But I know that it's going to be a life-long physical and financial challenge to attempt to replicate what was ripped from their lives.

Regular readers here know that The Running Dream won the Schneider award for its portrayal of the disability experience. What you probably don't know is that, of all the wonderful, prestigious ALA awards like the Newbery and the Caldecott, etc., the Schneider is one that also comes with a monetary award.

When I got the call, the Schneider committee reminded me of the award and encouraged me to buy a new outfit. I think they must have researched me on the internet and discovered that I'm wearing the same 3 things in all the pictures.

I did not buy a new outfit. (I wore one of my favorite 3 things to the ceremony.) What I did instead was give half of my prize money to charities associated with the people who helped me research The Running Dream. It seemed like the right thing to do.

The other half I squirreled away. Until this week, when I decided to take it, match it, and divide it among the  funds for the victims. It doesn't work out to be much apiece, but it seems like the most appropriate thing to do with what I've got. (So no making fun of my same old outfits, okay?)

Just one more thing: A middle school in New England used The Running Dream as a school-wide read and incorporated it into a several day program that included amputees and inspirational guest speaker / demonstrators. Here's how the article begins...

BEDFORD - Edward Joyce, principal of Ross A. Lurgio Middle School, wanted to remind his students - in light of all that's happened in Boston and its neighboring suburbs this week - that while "there are some bad guys in the world, there's way more good guys."

Amen.

If you're interested in reading more of the article (it's really inspiring), click here.

Thanks for checking in. I really appreciate that you do.