Big Soup - Introduction

So, I'm gonna write a book...

As I’ve been writing about Sean following the accident, I’ve had several people tell me I should write a book. Chronicle all of the stories and memories and tell who he was and what kind of relationship we had. Honestly, it’s not the first time I’ve been told I should write a book. I’ve been writing on Substack for several years, bouncing back and forth between social commentary and Bible studies, with the occasional short story or “inspirational” aside along the way. So writing is something I’m comfortable with and really enjoy, but honestly, I had never put any real consideration in to actually writing a book. For one, what would I actually write about? There are a ton of Bible studies out there, and me writing a full-length book compiling my thoughts on it wouldn’t really add anything that’s not already out there in some form. And there might be even more social commentaries from prominent figures who carry weight in that arena. My writing a book on the topic would go about as far as my podcast and Substack do (hint, that’s not very far). And I’m definitely not creative enough or inspirational enough to put together a whole book from either of those topics. Secondly, there is NO WAY I could write a whole book! The most I’ve ever written on anything was a 6-page term paper for my Freshman English Comp class at Mississippi State…and even that was supposed to be 10 pages. I mean, I made an A on the paper because the professor said I made all of my arguments completely and writing 4 more pages would have just been unnecessary filler…but that’s beside the point. I know a book doesn’t have to be a 1200-page slog like Stephen King’s IT to be good (that’s not a critique of IT, just saying it is really long), but it should probably break the 10-page threshold. And yes, I know there are books like The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow that are only about 50-60 pages long, or Machiavelli’s The Prince which runs just over 100 pages, but those are timeless classics of literature. While my wife may think I have an overly healthy ego, it’s not so inflated as to think I’m ever going to write something that becomes popular, much less fall in the literary classics category. So I never really put much serious consideration in to writing more than my occasional Substack or long Facebook post.

But the idea of writing a collection of stories about Sean’s life didn’t just feel like something that I could do, the more I thought about it the more it felt like something I should do. We may have only had 17 years…and the more I think about that, the shorter and shorter it seems, nowhere near enough time to spend with your first and only son…but they were years full of fun and joy and love and stories to be told! In writing my way through my grief with my Substack I’ve tried to share some of the moments and especially the things that have really stuck with me, the things that make me cry even though I know the tears come from a place of love and joy, and the struggles I’ve had trying to move forward with life without him…but I haven’t really gotten into a lot of the stories about the fun and silly times we’ve had over the years. All of the stupid and embarrassing moments, and the awesome ones that made us so proud! To write well, I think you have to write what you know. And I think the more you know, the more you’re going to write yourself in to your story. So, this is going to be a lot of things all rolled in to one. It will be part autobiographical, because a lot of my story with Sean is built from my own story and the stories of my own childhood that I shared with him. It will be part his story, to make sure I honor the memory I have of him, the pride I felt for him, and the love he had for everyone close to him. And it will also be some parts Bible study, social commentary, fun stories, and (maybe) inspirational. As I write I will put this out a chapter at a time on my Substack, and then maybe one day when I feel like it’s all finished and the story has been completely told as best it can be, I may look in to having it published. Granted, I would probably need someone to proofread and edit and give me notes and whatnot before it ever got to that point…but maybe I’ll get lucky and someone who reads the chapters along the way will be kind enough to help out with that. But for now, this is the start. I don’t really have a timeline or a plan… I know what my first chapter is going to cover, and that’s about it. So please, if you have Sean stories that you’d like included in this, fire up your inner writer and send it to me. I would like this to be a journey that everyone who called him friend, who knew and loved him, who was impacted by him in whatever way, can go on together and fill the pages of his book with a full picture of an incredible life.

Alright, let’s get after it.