Wednesday, August 19, 2009

DEAR COACH: Letters Home from WW II

Finally, after 7 years, I've published Dear Coach. It's now available at the Elizabethtown College online bookstore (www.etown.edu) and will soon be on Amazon. Very exciting but sometimes eclipsed by campaign activities. I think my parents would both be happy with the book. I'm looking forward to getting together with some of the letter writers and their families at the College Homecoming on October 17th. We'll read some of the letters that day - the stories are so moving. Here's one of the blurbs that was written for the cover:

"More than just a collection of letters, Dear Coach is the scrapbook of an extended family - a coach and his kids - dealing with a war that forced a generation to grow up overnight. The warmth between Coach Ira Herr and his kids shows the positive impact that caring educators can have on students' lives and how supportive mentoring can reach across oceans and continents to help sustain young people as they face the challenges of adulthood, The book's intimate correspondence, set in the context of a traditionally pacifist Christian college community also offers a glimpse at idealist souls wrestling with the tension between a commitment to non-violence and the need to combat Axis evils." Jim Kushlan, Editor and Publisher of America in WWII Magazine.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

campaigning

I'm actively campaigning for congress again. Right now it's mostly fundraising but other exciting events come along, like the Netroots Nation event in Pittsburgh this week. I'll be driving out to be at the WCF (Women's Campaign Forum) booth helping others who are thinking of running for office and going to the candidates night event as well. Beth Becker introduced me to some of the bloggers recently and I'm looking forward to meeting more of the netroots folks.