People sometimes ask about why I use portraits from my youth to represent myself in profiles. The answer is twofold. For one, I’m much older and not as cute as I used to be. The more significant reason is that childhood for most of us represents a time when the world is new and exciting. We are still wonderstruck by our experiences. Our dreams are fresh and possible. We have yet to lose faith in ourselves or others.
I never want to lose that perspective on life, that hope for a reality where people put aside their differences and realize we are all very much the same. A place and time that is the stuff of dreams, where we can believe and achieve our hearts desire. I never want to lose a childlike wonder for life and all it is.
In my novel, Promised Land: The Host Rises, our civilization has become so cynical and violent that it takes the presence of an outside entity to force humanity back to a hope and belief that life can be prosperous and full. The day of it’s arrival is designated the first day of The Peace.
On this Thanksgiving day in 2017, it is my sincerest wish that we can guide ourselves to Year 1 of The Peace without coercion. The child in me still believes that humanity will find a way to give everyone the rich, bountiful life we all deserve. Then we can turn to the stars with childlike eyes and ask, “What next?”