Behind the Words
Reflections on the Community That Made Me a Writer
Growing up, I never imagined being a writer or writing books.
But from a young age, I loved words and stories. My mom would buy me books, and I would devour them. I was especially obsessed with a custom-ordered version of The Jungle Book in which I was included as a character. It featured a blond-haired little boy named Brandon marching through the forests of India alongside Mowgli and his friends. My imagination would run wild with these stories.
My sister and I spent countless hours pulling books from the shelves, demanding that our mom or dad read to us. We were so relentless that my mom eventually resorted to locking herself in the bedroom to record stories on cassette. Even then, I don’t recall it satisfying us—we wanted to sit on their laps and hear them read aloud.
My love of words followed me through school. I won spelling bees, wrote wild and fanciful stories, took an etymology class in high school, and competed on the Spell Bowl team. Every step of the way, teachers encouraged me, seeing my passion for words and self-expression. Mrs. Auxier, for example, would write a phrase like “Happy Thanksgiving” on the chalkboard, challenging us to create as many words as possible from the phrase. The winner got a miniature Smurf figurine. I won every time and still have those Smurfs tucked away somewhere to prove it. No mom, I don’t want them back.
In high school, an eccentric, honors-level English and History teacher who went by the nickname “KA” had me visit his classroom every morning before school. Before helping him grade homework, he’d hand me the word jumbles from the newspaper and time me to see how fast I could solve them.
Then there was Dr. Kathy Barbour, my English composition professor at Hanover College. I wrote about her in a previous post, but she deserves mention here. She encouraged me to see myself as a writer at a time when I viewed my writing as nothing more than homework—a means to earn a grade and fulfill a credit. She recognized my love of words and creativity and pushed me to keep writing.
Even as I’ve grown older, others have continued to support me as a writer. Brian Blair, formerly of The Republic newspaper in Columbus, Indiana, gave me one of my greatest opportunities: a fourteen-year run as a Faith and Community guest columnist. I remain profoundly grateful for that experience. And Beth Stroh at Viewpoint Books has been one of my fiercest advocates. She has created opportunities for me, championed my work, and sold every book I’ve written. Her promotion and support have been gifts I could never fully repay.
So many people have shaped me as a writer. I wouldn’t be who I am today without their love, guidance, and encouragement. The same can be said for any of us, though. Becoming who we are is a testament to staying open to the people and paths placed before us. It’s easy to live under the illusion that we must pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and chart our own course. But that’s never the full story. Behind each of us is a community of people who mold us, shape us, and open doors we couldn’t open on our own. To those people in my life who have shaped me as a writer, I am eternally grateful.
Question
Who are the people in your life who have shaped and encouraged you to become who you are today, and how might you express your gratitude to them?
Peace,
Brandon
I am thrilled to announce the preorder for Deep Calls to Deep: Meditations for Your Spiritual Journey, Vol. 1, releasing in time for Christmas on December 17th. Deep Calls to Deep consists of a year and a half of weekly meditations to guide you into a more peaceful and generative life. For signed copies that can be shipped out immediately, please call Viewpoint Books at 812-376-0778. Viewpoint is the only vendor that has my permission to sell copies before the official release. If you would rather preorder Deep Calls to Deep online, visit Bookshop.org, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Walmart among other online retailers.
