Personal Essay Publishing Project 2019

In this week's mail I received copies of a new book, fresh off the presses. It's an anthology of personal essays about exploring, discoveries, challenges, and adventure, which just happens to include the key title word, Exploring One of those essays is mine, and I thank publisher Randell Jones of Daniel Boone Footsteps for including me with the esteemed line-up of authors I found listed in the table of contents.

I haven't read any essays yet. The book is top on my list of next week's beach reads when I trade sitting in front of my desktop screen for sand, surf, and under-the-umbrella reads.

I did scan the book, and I read through the paragraph at the end of each essay introducing the author. When I say esteemed, I mean ESTEEMED authors from the southeastern United States, each with his or her own take on exploring, discoveries, challenges, and adventure.

Last fall when I first sat down in front of aforementioned computer screen, I wasn't sure what challenge in my life I was going to write about. I've had my fair share of trials and tribulations, but they seem to pale in comparison to what many people go through in life. So I chose to concentrate on a personal story that embodies each of those elements of exploring, discovery, challenge and adventure...My family's quest. The Brown-Sign Challenge.

To my husband and me, travel equated exploring. History minded that I was, each time I spotted a brown sign along the interstate or back roads announcing a recreational or historical site, I'd "suggest" that we explore the possibilities. We found all sorts of discoveries waiting to be uncovered. As we drove the Alaskan Highway with our Milepost Guide in our hands, we jumped at every adventure, and in the process, enriched our children's knowledge of science and history. Talk about a challenge!

I'm so looking forward to sitting with this book next week on the beach to see what challenges these esteemed authors wrote about.

Grab a copy of the book. My essay starts on page 113. I challenge you when you are finished to find a brown sign along the road where you can find your own discovery and adventure. Maybe we'll bump into each other.

Catch of the day,

Gretchen