As always, wonderful feedback. I’ll polish those sentences some more… More real life examples, less generic terms.
For today’s assignment- I went back to the post about Following Ezra. I wanted to write a new one but just didn’t have the time. I’m working against a deadline on an article for the Israeli Journal of Chinese Medicine. I’ve had my column there for a few years. For this journal though, I’m expected to use the corporate tone… But I do use many techniques we’ve covered in the course 🙂
Here’s the post again (still needs some work). I found that I did refer to the “why” on almost every paragraph- either directly or indirectly.
Sometimes you just don’t get it.
You know how life has these moments that you don’t understand? Those times, and hardships, that seem to have no meaning at all?
There’s a heavy sensation in your chest that keeps you up at night. A fog of uncertainty surrounds you, and all you can do is look down at your feet, and take one step at a time. If you can move at all.
Well, isn’t it true that over the months and years, many moments get their meaning?
When you finally understand why did it all happen?
One event can clear up the fog that was there for weeks, or months, or long, long years. You finally see the gray, meaningless string of events in full color.
Those colors shine brighter than the sun.
Today I want to tell you about a book called Following Ezra. It’s relatively new, and was published in the US in 2011. As far as I know, there’s no Hebrew translation.
The author, Tom Fields-Meyer, is writing about 10 years of his family’s life, since his son Ezra was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 3.
You’ll find many events he’s describing familiar from your journey with your own child.
And he gives you the perspective of time, while weaving seemingly small moments into a big net of meaning.
His journey can help you find the meaning in your journey with your child.
There are many special stories.
“The horse boy” really wins in this category.
A trip to Mongolia. Meetings with shamans. A journey riding horses.
Need I add more?
It’s an amazing, inspiring story, that definitely brought me to tears many times.
But I had one problem with it: accessibility.
It’s true that everything is possible. It’s true that you can leave everything and go to Mongolia. It’s all true. But how many parents can really leave everything behind and head off to Mongolia with their child?
Can you?
And this is where “Following Ezra” comes in.
It’s a story about daily, normal experiences. At the kindergarten. With the community. At school. At the barber shop. Experiences that anyone who’s close to a child on the spectrum can identify with.
This makes the book so accessible- right from the cover picture. So familiar…
It’s a book you can learn so much from, about the simple daily life with a child on the spectrum.
Similarities between “The Horse Boy” and “Following Ezra”
Tom Fields-Meyer and Rupert Isaacson both write for a living.
They both understand the power of the written word, and they both describe their journey with great tenderness.
Following Ezra is far from being plain and factual.
It’s a multi-dimensional story, full of depth and emotions. It writes about the hardships, and the beautiful moments, the desperation, and the progress. All these moments that every parent of a child on the spectrum goes through.
{not very direct, but still hints of the “why”}
There are many ways to tell a story.
How would you tell your story?
Would you start before the diagnosis and take it from there, chronologically? Or would you choose to describe your journey differently?
Rupert Isaacson chose to tell the story chronologically- from the beginning onward. Nothing acts better to describe a journey.
But Tom Fields-Meyer chose to tell it differently.
He took 10 years and divided them into chapters, when each chapter describes another topic. The diagnosis, communication difficulties, anxieties, the love of animals, obsessions, growing up, and more.
In each chapter he jumps between different points in time to draw a complete picture from his memory. He tells us where they started, what they’ve been through, where they are today, what they still need to go through.
Every point in time has its own meaning. Sometimes it’s a description of a short conversation, sometimes a description of a time. But he collects those experiences with great sensitivity, seeing the thread that connects them and gives them meaning.
{same as before. Should I make it more apparent?}
Wait a minute, if his name is Ezra…
You guessed it. Tom Fields-Meyer is Jewish, and his wife Shawn is even a Rabbi. Their kids names are Ami, Ezra and Noam, and they call their parents “abba” and “ima” [Hebrew for dad, mom]. They live in Los Angeles, and even spent a year in Israel, while Shawn was during her rabbinical studies.
Following Ezra is full of Jewish references- to holidays and sayings. But above all- stands the closing chapter that is dedicated to Ezra’s Bar Mitzvah.
This specific chapter brought me back to the preparations for my younger brother’s Bar Mitzvah. I felt I was experiencing it again through the book.
I think every parent to a child on the spectrum can relate to this book, but those references bring it even closer to us.
It’s a story about a father who decided not to mourn.
Not to let waves of grief wash him away, but let love flood him. It wasn’t always easy. There were tough moments, and frustrating ones. But there were also moments full of humor, and moments full of awe.
The magic of this book is in its simplicity. There’s no journey to Mongolia, no mysterious healing. There’s just a family, which goes through whatever every family with an autistic child goes through. But-
The real story, and what Tom asks to share with other parents, lies in his approach.
This caring, loving, open-to-the-unexpected outlook.
An honest approach- smiling sometimes, excited sometimes, searching for meaning.
An approach that lets Ezra lead, and learns his way.
Helps him find his unique way in the world.
Take this journey with him.
And see it effecting your own.