Review: Building a Life Out of Words by Shawn Smucker
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| Building a Life Out of Words |
Often times when life throws us a curve ball, out natural
tendency is to find some corner somewhere, cry in cup of coffee, and sing our
favorite verse of poor, poor me. But what if we drew a deep breath, stepped
back, and considered for a minute how we could use this opportunity to make a
positive change of direction in our lives?
Shawn Smucker was faced with such a situation. After
returning from four years of managing a large business in England, he felt lost
working 10 hour days painting houses and living in his parent’s basement with
his wife and two children. When his aunt called out of the blue and asked him to
write her life story, he had no idea how his life would be impacted. He
approached the project tentatively lacking the confidence of a career writer.
But when a publisher reviewed the initial two chapters that he had written, the
publisher contacted him wanting him to write the book. Had he pursued other
unrelated temporary opportunities, his writing career would have never
launched. That first published book led to a second and eventually to a
successful career in writing.
Building a Life Out of Words is a transparent look at the
struggles of a 29 year old husband and father attempting to establish himself
as a professional writer and the self doubts and second guesses that come along
the way. It is a very encouraging story to those of us writing and wondering
where the path will lead us.
His final line in the book is the most encouraging of all,
“I hope that you will be known as a person who lives. Really lives. Someone who
makes decisions, not based on what’s expected, but on what’s possible. Someone
who does things, not because everyone else is doing them, but because it’s what
you want to do more than anything else in the world. Now that would be a life
worth living.”
For all of my friends that blog, write, or even think about writing, let me recommend that you read this book and consider the encouragement to move forward with your pursuit of writing. And if you have ever considered having your writing published, let me throw in another recommendation. You should have a conversation with my friends at FistBumpMedia. I can say nothing but good things about their service, support, and affordability.
