HEALING WATER: We have a winner!

Random.org, I mean - uh, my husband picked a number. And...

Peggy Reiff Miller, just won a copy of  
Healing Water: An Hawaiian Story!
Congratulations, Peggy!

From the flyleaf:   

Thirteen year-old Pia has never known his real father. But Kamaka, a family friend, has taught him how to work, explore, and take on physical challenges.Pia believes Kamaka is fearless. He never suspects that a time will come when Kamaka could actually be afraid of him. Neither does he expect his own body to betray him, or his government to tear him from his family and send him into exile.

When Pia finds himself abandoned on Molokai, Hawaii's leprosy settlement, he turns to the skills he learned from Kamaka to help him survive. But the conditions are harsh. Pia discovers he must choose between anger and aloha, revenge and forgiveness, his own wilfulness and the example of someone worthy of being like a father.

This fictional account was inspired by the experiences of many Hawaiians who were sent to Molokai's isolated Kalaupapa Peninsula, starting in 1866 and by the life of Father Damien deVeuster, who chose to live and work there in the late 1800s.

Here's the trailer.

Meanwhile, over at Joan Edwards' blog, someone else won a copy of Healing Water!

WITH ALOHA: Healing Water Book Giveaway

Joan Edwards of NEVER GIVE UP interviewed me in her Authors I Admire series. Yay! To celebrate, I'm giving away a copy of Healing Water at her blog.  Healing Water is my historical novel set in Hawaii's leprosy settlement.  

Here's a look at the book via a short trailer.

Yes, it starts out sad.  Yes, it's tragic in the middle.

But, YES, there is hope and community and God's footprint throughout.  So go on over to Joan's blog and join the giveaway.

Oh, wait - before you go - I've decided to double your chances of winning by offering one here too.  Enter by including the word ALOHA in your comment below.

I apologize in advance that this giveaway doesn't include a trip to Hawaii. But reading is one way to get there...

UNEXPECTED ALERT! (The good kind)

It's always fun to wake up to a Google Alert for a new review of my book.

Today the review was for Healing Water at a site called Yesterday's Young Adult Novels. What a neat concept to review the books that aren't the latest ones on the market but still worth reading!

Most of the reviews at this site are for out-of-print books published in the 1950's & 60's. I love vintage books and the covers on this site provided for a great nostalgia trip!

I'm not sure how Healing Water landed on this site since it's only 2 years old and still in-print.

But I feel quite lucky! The review was thorough and thoughtful and the somewhat mysterious blogger included links to a whole bunch of related sites on leprosy, Kalaupapa, Father Damien, his canonization, and more. Impressive!

Naturally I decided to follow Yesterday's Young Adult Novels.

TWO DAMIEN FILMS

Want to know more about Father Damien, the missionary priest to Hawaii who is being canonized on Sunday? Check out these movies!
Molokai: The Story of Father Damien was co-written by Hilde Eynikel who also wrote a book by the same title. Stars are David Wenham and Kate Ceberano.

An Uncommon Kindness is a documentary narrated by Robin Williams.

Both are informative, absorbing, and well worth your time. If your public library doesn't have them, it's always worth asking. Chances are, they will order upon request.

SMILE: FATHER DAMIEN WAS HERE!

If you were a leprosy patient shipped off to the Kalaupapa Peninsula, separated from home and family, would you be smiling?

I'm not exactly sure which of the residents of Kalaupapa painted these rocks. Or when. Likely a century after Father Damien lived and died.

But I do know that ever since he came, there have been more smiles on the Kalaupapa Peninsula.

And on Sunday, October 11, 2009 when Pope Benedict presides over his canonization, there will be lots of celebrating!

SAINT DAMIEN: He made it easier to believe.

Children's art work depicting scenes from Father Damien's life - on display in the Damien Birthplace Museum in Tremelo, Belgium.

Confession: I don't really like the word "saint". It conjures up images of people too religious to be any earthly good. But if the Vatican has decided that Father Damien is a saint, then there must be another definition at work.

Because that man did a world of good.

He offered compassion to the desolate leprosy patients of Hawaii. He empowered them to improve their situation, hassled them as needed, and shared his food and pipe with them. He gave his life for them. He got their disease.

Before him, there'd been a few non-patients who lived or did religious work in the settlement but they were either transient or came as helpers to family members . Father Damien was the first to voluntarily stay in Kalawao and serve all its residents. He inspired others to do the same.

Joseph Dutton showed up one day, said he'd come to help, and proceeded to spend the rest of his life (45 more years) on the six squares miles of Kalaupapa Peninsula.

Dutton describes his first encounter with Father Damien.

He was now a leper in the advanced stage... The Father talked eagerly,... he called me "Brother," as I had come to stay, and gave me at once the full care of two churches. He was full of plans that morning, talking of what he wished for the lepers.

Joseph Dutton was a striking figure - a tall muscular man in a blue demin suit. He was neat and clean even after a "hot dusty trip."

There was little water in the leprosy settlement and Father Damien constantly hustled from one menial task to another. He was impulsive and careless about appearances so he must've looked like a mess much of the time. Probably the sort of person a lot of us would pull away from.

Brother Dutton wrote of him:

There were times when one did not care to be too much with Father Damien; that should be said. But there was love between us. This is not to say that our tastes and personal habits were the same, it would not be correct to say that.

He goes on to talk about repugnances. He doesn't get specific but I suspect that Father Damien never looked like the white robed, haloed image that seems to go with sainthood.

I'm not entirely sure what all defines a saint in the Catholic tradition. I know there must be evidence of a holy life and also of miracles.

In my tradition, a saint is someone who lives what he believes. As William Barclay put it, "A saint is someone whose life makes it easier to believe in God."

Just one reason why Father Damien will become Saint Damien on October 11, 2009. And it also explains why he inspired me to write Healing Water!

Quotations from The Heart of Father Damien by Vital Jourdain, S.S. C.C.

IN SEARCH OF FATHER DAMIEN

It's a big week in Louvain, Belgium where Father Damien's remains are interred. A few years ago, Chuck and I visited that spot in conjunction with my research for Healing Water, a historical novel that takes place in Hawaii's leprosy settlement.

This is the church building with the crypt in the lower level. I don't have a good picture but you can see one in this issue of the Maui News. There was a special mass at the cathedral today.
Father Paul Macken, a Damien expert met us there and answered questions that would help me be accurate in my story telling and and in the author note in the back of the book.

He drove us then to Tremelo to visit Damien's birthplace and museum where we got a glimpse of the way he lived.

KITV in Honolulu is covering the event. Lots of links on this KITV website.

Pamela Young of KITV and 200 others from Hawaii are on a pilgrimage to Belgium and Italy, then back to Kalaupapa. Eleven of the pilgrims are former Hansen's Disease patients from the Kalaupapa, Peninsula where Father Damien served.

Pamela is blogging about the experience here.

IN CELEBRATION OF FATHER DAMIEN'S CANONIZATION

On Sunday, October 11 (a mere 6 days from now) Joseph DeVeuster (Father Damien) will be canonized.

I've decided to celebrate with a Damien/Molokai, Hawaii-related post each day this week. There are so many options it's hard to know where to begin. But why not with one of the books that I relied on so heavily during my research?

I love The Lands of Father Damien by James H. Brocker because it has so much heart and lots of history. Of course, the history can be found in many places. But the heart of this book is not easily duplicated.

I felt the aloha here the moment I opened its pages. And later when I met author Jim Brocker at his store on topside Molokai, I understood why. He is truly an unassuming and generous person!

One of the real gifts Jim gave me in this book was a feeling for the landscape of the Kalaupapa Peninsula where my story, Healing Water takes place. It is chock full of Jim's vivid photography with informative captions as well as vintage photos from the time of Father Damien. One example is this photo which Jim graciously permitted me to include on my website.

Also, on my website is a video clip of Catherine E. Toth's visit to the Kalaupapa Peninsula on Molokai, HI. You may want to check that out!

THE MAKING OF A SAINT

Artwork created by children to honor Father Damien. This hangs in his birthplace museum in Tremeloo, Belgium.

A saint is someone whose life makes it easier to believe in God.

Perhaps this quote by William Barclay sums up why I wrote Healing Water.

I was inspired by Father Damien, a Catholic priest who in 1873, chose to live among Hawaii's leprosy patients. The Kalawao leprosy settlement was filling with people who were taken from family and friends in hopes of protecting others from their disease.

The outcast leprosy patients did not have their basic needs provided so they went into survival mode. Then Damien arrived and his compassion helped transform the settlement from a place of hopelessness to a real community.

Eventually Damien himself contracted leprosy. And while leprosy itself, doesn't kill a person, its complications do. In 1889, after 16 years of sharing his skills and compassion with Hansen's Disease patients, Father Damien died.

After decades of consideration, the Vatican has decided that Damien is indeed a saint. This means his life has been scrutinized and 2 miracles have been attributed to his intervention.

On October 11, 2009 Damien will be canonized.

Not to argue with the Vatican, but as far as I'm concerned, Father Damien was a saint simply because of the life he lived in Kalawao. Everything I've read, indicates that his presence there led many to believe in God.

TODAY, YESTERDAY, LAST NIGHT

Healing Water was inspired by Father Damien who volunteered to live in Hawaii's leprosy settlement.

1. Today is Damien Day. May 10 is the anniversary of the day that Father Damien began his ministry to Hawaii's leprosy patients.

2. Yesterday, I thought I was meeting friends, Carol Baldwin and Shelley Worman at El Paso's for some great Mexican food before we attended the Blue play. Then, Shelley's grandchild decided to come a month early so it turned out to be just me and Carol. At least that's what I thought. But when I arrived I found a small crowd. The core group were NC school teachers and media specialists who took an NCCAT class Carol and I taught last fall. There were a few spouses and other family members. Great folks! I was slightly flustered by this unexpected gathering in my honor. And humbled that each of them drove 1 - 3 hours to get here. It was so fun to be with them again but there wasn't nearly enough time to catch up! Thank you! Thank you! And Shelley, I missed you, but congratulations on the grandchild!

3. Last night, when I came home from the play, there was a rose bush on my kitchen table. And cards from the grandchildren. You've got to love it when the two year-old dictates a card to his grandmother that says Happy Birthday, BopBop! I don't blame Solomon for being smitten with his grandpop. (After all, I am too.) But still, the way I see it, that little fellow owes me a Father's Day card!

ANOTHER HISTORIC DEATH

This seems to be the week for me to write about the deaths of great men. First FDR and now Father Damien of Molokai. My book Healing Water was initially inspired by Father Damien. He was the Catholic priest who chose to live among Hawaii's leprosy patients. As I researched, I realized the story was so much bigger than this one man. But still, he was such an incredible man. Pia, my protagonist gives us a glimpse of him.

I looked at Father Damien, and for the first time I thought about his family. It must have been a long time since he had seen them—it was now nearly ten years since that day when I first saw him get off the ship in Honolulu. That was before the government had even created this leprosy prison.

Why had he come to Hawai‘i? And especially to Moloka‘i?

"Did that bishop send you here?" I asked him.

The Father stopped digging and looked at me then. "The bishop asked several of us to take turns," he said. "And so I volunteered."

"Oh." I wondered if that meant he would be leaving after all. "When will it be someone else’s turn?" I asked. "Will you go back to Kohala?"

Father Damien shook his head. "I cannot leave my children in these conditions."

"But you don’t have leprosy. What if you never get to leave?"

Damien turned away from me then, and I saw his eyes moving about, looking over the scattered cottages of Kalawao. "If I never leave this place," he said softly, "I will be the happiest missionary in the world."

Happy? In Kalawao? Never seeing his family again? Never traveling to Honolulu or Kohala? How could anyone love God that much? How could anyone love me that much? I just didn’t understand.

"Pardon me for the questions, Father, but, but … do you plan to die here?"

Damien looked up to the pali then, and I could see that he was remembering something. "I died before I came," he said. "When I took my religious vows, I prostrated myself before the altar and my brothers placed a funeral shroud over me. On that day I died to my own will. God’s will became my will."

These words from my novel are based on a letter Damien wrote to his brother soon after his arrival.

"So remembering that on the day of my profession I had already put myself under the funeral pall, I offered myself to his lordship to meet, if he thought it well, this second death."

The truth is, Father Damien did contract leprosy. And then, some time after he knew he had leprosy, he wrote home again.

"The joy and contentment of heart... make me consider myself the happiest missioner in the world. Consequently, the sacrifice of my health...appears after all but a slight affair, and even profitable for me."

On April 15, 1889 Father Damien died of complications related to leprosy.

On October 11, 2009 he will be canonized. From that day on he will officially be Saint Damien.

FATHER DAMIEN AND MIRACLES

I learned about Father Damien of Moloka`i back in 1998 and was hooked immediately. Inspired by this compassionate priest, I began researching and plotting a story about Hawaii’s leprosy settlement

A friend gave me a newspaper article which said that Robin Williams would be playing Damien in a feature film and that Father Damien was close to being canonized as a saint in the Catholic Church (pending verification of a miracle performed through his intercession).

So naturally, as I began marketing my manuscript, I was quick to point out these two items of interest. (Surely they would help me land a publishing contract!)

However, as far as I could tell, editors were not impressed. Rejections rolled in. (Hmmmmm – perhaps movie stars and saints are not enough to sell a story – perhaps one has to write well also!)

Fortunately I met Editor, Carolyn Yoder who nurtured my storytelling over a several year period. She offered me publishing contracts – first for Blue and then for Healing Water.

All along, I watched the Blue Ryder Pictures website to see how the movie prospect was coming along. But apparently Robin Williams had other things to do…

In the end, he did narrate a documentary - An Uncommon Kindness about Father Damien. It’s very well done, of course. As far as I can tell a feature film, with Robin Williams playing the lead, is not in the offing.

And as for Damien’s sainthood?

Last July, just 3 months after Healing Water was published, the Vatican announced that the final miracle needed for Damien’s canonization had been verified.

Yesterday, the Vatican announced the date. On October 11, 2009 Damien DeVeuster will become a saint.

As it turns out - miracles really do happen!

RECENT RAMBLINGS

The sign is compliments of White Knoll Middle School, West Columbia, SC. Wait until you see the close-ups! (I'll post those pics later.)

I've been burning up the road lately which makes it hard for me to blog. But I do want to report on some lovely school visits to Snow Hill, MD (setting for Best Friends Forever) to Wilkesboro, NC, and to West Columbia, SC.

I promise not to get too wordy. Will simply show pics of some wonderful people I met along the way.

A few of the terrific 7th graders in Snow Hill who are reading my books! They all had great questions! I love Q & A time when I can just interact with the students.

Me talking about the publication timeline for Blue. And emphasizing the big pink eraser - Revisions! Revisions! Revisions!

Barbie, the lovely Media Specialist at work.

Stephanie, the teacher friend who made the connections! (Steph's hubby, who is from Hawaii, told me about Father Damien which led to the writing of Healing Water.
A big shout out to the Worcester County Library at Snow Hill for sponsoring my visit! Thanks a big one, my friends!

My next visit was to Wilkesboro Elementary School which is about an hour from my home. I'd met Media Specialist Janis Harless last February when I presented at a teacher workshop. I loved being in her school!

With a few tips from the students I figured out how to use the SmartBoard.

Here is Marcia Reynolds who provided me with juice, muffins and cookies with Blue sprinkles. She also collected book money and generally helped organize the visit and the PTA sponsorship! Thanks so very much to the PTA!

I love meeting the students and always wish there was more time to chat.

On the road again...

On November 14 I traveled to West Columbia SC and White Knoll Middle School.

You've gotta love it when the media specialist wears wisteria inspired clothing and the principal dons overalls in honor of your book!

Wanda made some wondrously healthy carrot muffins. How did she know?

Tessa, a library intern who shares my passion for Holocaust literature.