Sigmund Brouwer | Story: What Makes Us Human
August 22, 2014
I’ve spent years enjoying every and any chance to speak at schools, focusing on
the importance of story as a way to motivate literacy. My points to students are
simple. One, great stories are like great songs; great stories and great songs
grab our emotions. Two, we love to mess with other people through their
emotions. Three, reading and writing is a delivery system for story. Conclusion?
Use this amazing delivery system to enjoy a story in a book, or to write a story
and have fun messing with your teacher’s emotions, as long as the words and
content of the story are appropriate for your audience. In short, telling story is one of the best ways to connect with people. To tell
story is what makes us human, and to be human is to tell story. Then came the day when I learned something that totally shifted my foundational
view about story, without diminishing my understanding of the importance of
story. My friend, an orthodontist, told me that if he has an emotional bond with
his young patients, they are much more likely to follow his advice in the weeks
between appointments. He said he connects by doing what few adults do; he
listens to their stories. I try to remember this every day in all my contacts with people, especially to
the children I meet at schools. We are our stories. By listening to someone’s
story, I acknowledge the value of that person. This truth was underscored over the months of research and writing for my
novel THIEF
OF GLORY, a story inspired by what my father had survived as a boy, for the
novel’s narrator is a man my father’s age now, looking back on his life, and
finally revealing to his daughter the one horrible secret in camp that shaped
his entire life. My father is nearing eighty, yet spoke little of those events to his children.
Even as an adult, all I knew about his boyhood in the Dutch East Indies was
that, during the Second World War, he, his, siblings and his mother were thrown
into a Japanese concentration camp, and separated from his father who was sent
to work on the Burma Railroad. It wasn’t until the war was over that they
learned that my grandfather had died at the work camp. By reading true-life stories of other survivors, I was to be able to ask my
father situation-specific questions, and he began to open up with boyhood
memories, many of which my fictional character shares in the novel. (I was even
able to convince my father to get involved in the book trailer, where he
plays the part of Jeremiah Prins, the fictional main character. At the least,
this guaranteed the Dutch accent would be authentic!) As for my own childhood, what I remember best about my father was that he always
stopped what he was doing to listen to me. I was glad for the chance to do the
same for him, and to honor him by sharing his story. Comment below to be entered to win your own signed copy of THIEF OF
GLORY and read this powerful story for yourself.*** Sigmund Brouwer is the best-selling author of nearly thirty novels, with
close to 4 million books in print. He speaks to over 80,000 students a year at
schools all across Canada and the United States through his Rock And Roll
Literacy presentations. Sigmund is married to recording artist Cindy Morgan
and they have two daughters.
Comments
20 comments posted.
Re: Sigmund Brouwer | Story: What Makes Us Human
I am so thankful that you are keeping History alive by telling the story about what your Father endured during WWII. My Father passed away in April, and unfortunately, took his secrets with him to the grave. He was in the Army in WWII, and sent Morse Code messages to the troops while in France, and almost got killed in the process. Whatever he did earner him a Silver Star, and I wish that he would have opened up to me about his story. All I know was that he was visited by General Patton during the war. Since I don't know much about what my Dad did, I try to read as many books as I can about the war, so I can get a better understanding about what they went through. You are so fortunate that your Father finally opened up, and that you were able to share that story with us. Thank you again, and this book is definately on my TBR list!! (Peggy Roberson 12:12pm August 22, 2014)
What a beautiful and memorable post today. History and remembering what happened is vital and meaningful. Your father, his experiences and his bravery are wonderful to learn about and your book would be a treasure to cherish greatly. (Sharon Berger 12:16pm August 22, 2014)
WWII was such a painful time in our history. I am a baby boomer and I have learned of it through personal narratives and by reading about it. This sounds like a wonderful short. Thanks for this chance to read it as my own copy. (Connie Saunders 11:22am August 23, 2014)
Thanks for the chance to read your book (Jean Benedict 11:31am August 23, 2014)
After read your blog post, I do so want to read Thief of Glory. So many stories have been lost because the WWII generation is passing away without telling their stories, without realizing what they would mean to their children and grandchildren. Thank you for sharing your father's story. (Deb Philippon 12:53pm August 23, 2014)
I am very interested in anything to do with World War ll and would really like to read Thief of Glory. (Joan Crothers 4:39pm August 23, 2014)
You are so lucky, that your father finally shared this family history. I wish my grandparents had shared some with us, especially from their childhood in WWI Poland and unfortunately my paternal grandmother died before almost all of her grandchildren were born.So we never met her.We know almost nothing of her life in Scotland and why she decided to emigrate.This family history is so important to pass on to future generations. (Denise Duvall 1:20am August 24, 2014)
It is always good to know your family history, it's your heritage. I can't wait to read this book. (Mary Smith 4:50am August 24, 2014)
I would love to read this book! (Francesca Tagliaferri 6:26am August 24, 2014)
I would love to win and review. I haven't read any of your books. (Jane Squires 7:41am August 24, 2014)
Iwould love to read your newest novel. (Ron Frampton 8:14am August 24, 2014)
I love a good read-a really good story! That's why I'd love to win 'Thief of Glory'. (John Dallal 10:47am August 24, 2014)
I have never read any of your books, but after reading this blog I intend to change that. Thank you for the giveaway, (Nancy Wolfe 12:20pm August 24, 2014)
I usually dodge novels about World War II, especially those about the Japanese and the way they treated prisoners, but this book sound intriguing. I would love to read it. (Anna Speed 12:56pm August 24, 2014)
I liked the review. I am very interested in History and stories that need to be told. (Jayne Cameron 1:09pm August 24, 2014)
I am very interested in reading this book! (Shelley Maier 1:57pm August 24, 2014)
Wow...that is really neat that you have such an emotional connection with the story that you wrote. I work in an elementary school library and children like anyone want someone to listen to them. This book sounds great and is definitely on my to-be-read list!! (Sheri Pruitt 3:20pm August 24, 2014)
You are a new author to me and would love the chance to read this book. (Denise Austin 3:43pm August 24, 2014)
This book sounds very interesting, thank you for this great giveaway. (Deborah Favorito 8:27pm August 24, 2014)
My father served in WWII in the Navy upon the USS Montpelier Naval Ship and battled throughout the South Pacific. He talked very little to me about what happened, but would talk to my brother over breakfast (when they were alone) about it. Finally, when one of his fellow crewmen wrote a book, from a daily diary he'd kept hidden (which was against all military rules), I got the book through our library and read it. My father had read it years before I had, and owned it, yet never let me read it. I was shocked to learn what I did. Things that happened aboard the ship, on the islands they row-boated to and what they found, food rationing to the point of starvation because of lack of supplies, the intense humid heat and long hours of chores they were dealt, including hours of walking back and forth length of the ship, carrying huge heavy bombs and stacking them, to be fired at the enemy, one on each of their shoulders til they were very bruised, close calls, and coming upon other ships destroyed and bodies floating in the water. It was more than I could stand and brought tears to my eyes, thinking about my father, just in his early twenties and what he endured and witnessed during those years for fighting for our country. Books like this, as well as yours, are of great interest to many to read these true accounts, as there is no better means to find out. Many veterans do not wish to tell and relive these memories, simply because, many of them are bad and painful. My mother wrote a huge piece of accounts that happened to my father years ago. I remember reading and re-reading it. My father had close calls many times, and it was just a stroke of luck he lived. His fellow crewmen calling his name to come over when they walked onto a beach, and before he even walked a couple steps toward them, hidden land mines blowing up and blowing off these other guys limbs and blinding them. My father was a patient, likeable man with many friends. He passed away in 1997, from cancer in (Linda Luinstra 6:17pm August 25, 2014)
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