CoryFossum.com

WVa Parents Want to Ban Prince of Tides - Are They High?!

Just came across this article on Yahoo!:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071107/ap_on_re_us/book_battle

Turns out that my favorite book of all time — "The Prince of Tides" — is about to be banned from a high school in West Virginia because two uptight parents decided the graphic rape scene in it was "obscene and offensive" for the fragile eyes of their children. As such, they want it pulled, along with Pat Conroy's follow-up novel "Beach Music," from the shelves of the high school library.

Here's why this has me so upset (among many reasons). Of course, there is the whole book-banning thing which is so 1950s and wrong and awful. But it's not just that. It's something much more personal to me.

One of the biggest reasons I became a writer is because I read "The Prince of Tides" the summer I turned 17. I was about to be a Senior in high school and we were on vacation in Trinity Alps, CA.

A buddy handed me the book and told me to read several pages. As boys will be, of course, it was the aforementioned rape scene. It was terrifying to read, as anyone who has read it knows. But I was completely captivated by the language and prose Conroy used.

So much so that I asked to borrow the book and started at the beginning. What followed was the most profound literary experience I had had before, or have had since. I got completely swept away in the story and it inspired me to write like no other book has. I have several writers who have influenced my style, but none more so than Pat Conroy.

Several years later, I was lucky enough to have lunch with Mr. Conroy during his "Beach Music" book tour. I was fresh out of college and hung on to his every word. When we parted ways, I simple shook his hand and thanked him for everything. I didn't know in what capacity I would be writing, but I knew that I would be a writer, in large part because of him.

The idea that parents would still rally to essentially "burn" books in this day and age is overwhelmingly terrifying. Isn't the whole point to get them to read more and explore different worlds and discover the joy of literature? Isn't that why they learn to write and read and express themselves?

These are probably the same parents who let them watch violence and sex on TV and in the movies and think nothing of it. But to have them read of such a thing? Oh, the horrors!

All I know is that my direction in life was completely influence by the fact that I was introduced to "The Prince of Tides" at age 16 and couldn't put it down. I learned more about writing from that book than in all my years of studying this craft.

Who knows where I'd be today without it. Though I can tell you exactly where I am because of it.

There's no easy way to wrap up this post without ranting more, so I'll just leave with some good news from the article and Mr. Conroy himself:

Because the two books were temporarily banned "every kid in that county will read them, every single one of them. Because book banners are invariably idiots," Conroy wrote in the letter published Oct. 24 in The Charleston Gazette. "They don't know how the world works — but writers and English teachers do."

Why Being Laid Off Was the Best Thing to Ever Happen to My Career

I celebrated a very special day in my professional career on Saturday. It was the 5-year anniversary of the last time I ever got laid off.

That's right. I've been an independent professional for five years now. I haven't had my own cube... or answered to a boss... or needed to ask for vacation time... or wasted my life away in endless meetings... or had to find a million different ways to say the same thing over and over again about the same product... or dealt with office politics... or anything else like that in five years.

So much has happened since that day. But I still remember the feeling like it was yesterday.

I was vacationing up at my mother's vineyard when I saw that a voicemail had come in from my VP. I didn't even know he had my cell phone number. We pulled off to the side of the road and I gave him a call.

Another round of layoffs was happening and my name was up this time. I was in shock. Hadn't seen it coming.

The irony though was that I had just finished telling my family how I was ready for something new. I wasn't sure what it would be, but I knew it was on the horizon. I was about to finish my MBA program and needed a new challenge.

The shock of the news lasted for about an hour. I wondered how I would break the news to my wife back home. We were trying to start a family and this would be a big setback. I didn't think she'd be too thrilled. And of course, I had no prospects at the time. So the idea of looking for another job wasn't high on my list of things I had wanted to do.

But then something happened. The shock wore off. And in its place was the last thing I had expected... excitement. At that moment, I somehow knew that I was never going to work for anyone but myself again.

I remember telling my family that I would one day look back on this layoff as the greatest thing to ever happen to my career. I was remarkably at peace. Scared and nervous... but at peace.

I didn't know the form it would take. I didn't know how it would play out. What I did know was that I was on the verge of a major life change. And it was going to be alright. Something really, really great was going to come of this layoff.

Five years later, here I sit.

I've built a sucessful marketing communications business from the ground up. I have a client list that includes Apple, TiVo, Gymboree, Plantronics, and a bunch of other really huge names that I have been simply blessed to be able to write for.

I was able to work from home and raise my son during the first three years of his life. And now that he is off at pre-school, I'm still able to cut out when I need to and be the father I've always wanted to be. We bought our first house a few years ago. I call my own shots. I work when I want and with whom I want. I never have to ask for time off if I want to go on vacation with my family. And I've done it all on my own terms.

I can't pretend it's been easy. The first few years of this business were more challenging than I could have possibly imagined. But the rewards have been incredible. And well worth all of the struggle, which is now farther and farther away in the rearview mirror.

They say 95% of businesses don't last five years. Mine is among the 5% that has. Five years and two days, to be exact.

And I was right. The layoff was the best thing to ever happen to my career.

The time is now. If you aren't doing something that makes you happy, ask yourself why. And then figure out a way to make it happen. It's possible. But not until you decide to make it so.