sunday

I don't know how I can do justice to the event at Concord Bookshop yesterday.
I meant to take more pictures but I was so riveted by John's talk and so
busy talking to people before and afterward that I forgot about photos!

The place was packed. Standing room only. People had come from as far away as Summit, NJ, Manchester, NH, Rhode Island and all over Massachusetts. There were friends from elementary school, middle school, Andover and Harvard, many of whom John had not seen in decades. Mrs. Corby and Susie (in the photo below with me) were next door neighbors and dear family friends in Summit.

John spoke for over an hour, and read passages from the book. People around me were barely breathing, they were so captivated by what he had to say. After the talk, he signed all the books that were piled up next to him on the table and then the store employee brought out another stack and he signed those also. People bought multiple copies for family and friends. According to The Sunday Boston Globe, Loon is the sixth best selling hardcover nonfiction book in New England, and that was BEFORE this event!

But the number of books sold is not the point. I know it's interesting and affirming to look at the numbers. This book has already accomplished great things. For the soldiers who fought at LZ Loon, they can know the story has finally been told. Their families can at last begin to understand the horrors endured, descriptions of which never made it into the letters home. Old friends have been given a way to reconnect. Former teachers are reaching out to John, so sorry to have been out of touch all these years. Our family has certainly been brought closer because of it. Hands across the water. I am in awe of all the communications John has received from people he knows and from people he has never met. This book has been a lightning rod and a vehicle for healing and connection. That alone is monumental.

Never doubt the power of the written word.