A Favorite Back Story
Friends of Author Share Reading Experience
Joe and Marilyn
Every story or book has at least one back story that I love to share. One of my all-time favorites is the touching and inspirational way in which my dear friends and neighbors Joe and Marilyn Sakowski are reading The Journey and the Destination.
Joe has significant vision and hearing impairments, yet he maintains a positive outlook and continues to enjoy his life. Marilyn is a major reason for that, and she often serves as Joe’s eyes and ears. As they begin 2025, Marilyn is reading The Journey and the Destination aloud, so Joe can join her in the experience.
“It’s been a pleasure to read the book together,” Marilyn said. “We’ve had a lot of fun talking about the stories as we read.”
Joe noted that he sometimes can’t process the stories, so Marilyn fills in the blanks for him. He said he especially liked hearing “What the Hell,” the story of a man who is mistakenly sent to Hell and has a few surprises about the Underworld.
“It was very creative,” he said. “I laughed out loud when the main character met the devil and found him dressed in a business suit and wearing an expensive watch.”
Marilyn also said she loves the book’s cover, which features a painting done by my wife, Susan Fishbein.
For me, the most satisfying aspect is knowing my stories had an impact. Now, thanks to Joe and Marilyn, I’ve got a new addition to my list of favorite back stories.
Labor of Love: Connecting With Readers
As much as I enjoy writing, I think I find even greater satisfaction in talking to readers. I was honored that the Afterwords book club of Wilmington, NC, made The Journey and the Destination its November selection, and it was an absolute pleasure to attend a recent meeting and discuss the stories with such a perceptive and interesting group.​
The readers asked superb questions, at times making me look at my work through a different prism. One of the more thought-provoking questions was which stories were the easiest and the hardest for me to write.
​ The easiest probably was "Scared Straight," which was based on my experiences as a first grader in Catholic school. Writing that story was simply fun, because I recalled how frightening I found the instructions about sin, eternal damnation and other memorable aspects of religious education.
Hardest, without question, was "Shared Secret." Although that story is fiction, it is based on a real event. The characters represent people near and dear to me, so it was especially important that I do them justice.​
My thanks to Afterwords for choosing my book and inviting me to visit. I hope we have an opportunity to do it again.
Media Coverage
I'm thankful to local news media for letting the community know about The Journey and the Destination. Such support has been gratifying and certainly is critical to increasing readership.
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In case you're interested, here are links to several articles:
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