Friday, January 29, 2010

Reactions to "Vanished" -- from people in it


Excerpts (quoted with permission) from a nephew, a friend, a former wife, and a father:

Brian Ruess ("I Leave No Trace: Nature Lover Everett Ruess"):

“It is excellent. Frankly, it is one of the best tellings of the Everett story I have read, and my 12 and 14 year old children enjoyed it as well.”
Marshall Marrotte ("Play That Song Again: Musician Henry Grimes"):
“I loved the book and all of the stories were interesting. The Henry Grimes info was spot-on and well written.”
Margaret Hadwin ("The Golden Tree Killer: Woodsman Grant Hadwin"):
“What a great book for kids…”
Mike Klamecki ("Very Harder Than I Thought: Kindergartner Hannah Klamecki"):
“Hannah read it first. She said reading her story made her feel 'wiggly' but she thought that it was very accurate. I found her story in your book to be very well researched. As one who has shared this story numerous times in private and in public I liked the way you laid it out. I liked the intro to the characters that went right into the situation. From there on there is a good balance of staying with the developments of the story and going back to talk about my dad and Hannah's relationship. I want to thank you for mentioning my church and the prayer vigil they had which was of huge importance to us. I also want to thank you for mentioning the fire chief and the deputy by name.”

I must publicly thank all of the above for being so generous about this project. Interestingly, I don't mean with respect to research as I first connected with each of them only after the book was finished. But they have all taken the time to read it and respond, and surely for some, revisiting the experience was difficult on some level.


Never stop looking for whatever it is you want.

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