Your Story
If you could write a book for the entire world to read, what would it be about? Would you write the story of your life or one event that has happened to you? Would you write about someone who inspires you, someone you look up to? Would it be a story from the Bible, taken from a different point of view, for example? Or would your story be totally fictional, perhaps about an alien that visited another planet?
“If you could write a book for the entire world to read, what would it be about?” That is the question Dallas Graham asks each of his Creatives. In 2012 Dallas’ sister had told him about a family friend whose son, Mitchell, had a terminal illness. As many of us do when we hear such news, Dallas wanted to do something, ANYTHING. He came up with the idea of writing a book with Mitchell. Sadly, he died before the story could be written but Mitchell inspired Dallas to start the Red Fred Project.
Red Fred is a character that Dallas had created. It is a bird with a red, comma-shaped body, a period for an eye, exclamation points for legs, and a greater than/lesser than sign for the beak, depending on which way the bird is facing. Red Fred has several friends, collectively known as the Jolly Troop. Dallas’ dream is to go to all 50 states and find a child who has a life threatening illness or a rare disease and help them write and publish a book. He calls the young authors “Creatives” and create they do! After Dallas learns about a specific child, he meets with him or her and gets to know them better. Before he leaves, he gives the Creative assignments for them to prepare for the next visit. They come up with a character—it’s name, what it looks like, it’s color and personality—along with the title and story line, where they want pictures taken for the book (the Creative’s character, along with Red Fred and members of the Jolly Troop are placed on the photos as part of the story). As a team, they write the story and add in the pictures.
Their stories are wonderfully creative, as children can be. They are upbeat, funny, and thought-provoking. I had expected the stories to be more about what these children are going through. But they do not write about what it is like going into surgery for the umpteenth time this year or having to go through the pain and sickness of chemotherapy (although they may have a mean, nasty character that probably represents that part of their life). One Creative made a character that likes to go shopping and dance. Another deals with getting an adopted brother who is different (he is furry). A third book is about a hero bird named Zero (and math is involved in this book).
The very last page of the book is the “About the Author” and has the usual information—what they like to do, where they live, about their family, and sometimes a line or two about the child’s illness. That page also has two lessons that the Creative would like everyone to remember. Some of them are:
“A brave heart and good friends will make storms easier” Shae
“Courage and bravery come in all sizes.” Colin
“Sometimes our dragons can help us.” Nathan
When the book is finished and printed, the Creative has a Book Signing Event at a local bookstore and books can also be sold online. It is amazing what these young authors do with the profits from their books. Minus printing costs, all the money from the selling of each book is given to the Creative because hospitals are so expensive and are a financial burden to the family. I found out, though, that a number of children gave the money to someone else—to a friend they met at the hospital, one child donated her money to Alex’s Lemonade Stand, and another even gave his money back to Dallas to help write books with other children. While I imagine some keep the money for themselves or put it towards the expensive hospital bills, many are very open and giving to others in need.
“If you could write a story for the entire world to read, what would it be about?” If I had been asked that question before hearing about the Red Fred Project, I think my answer would have been different than it would be today. If I were going through what these children ARE going through, I am sure my story would be full of sadness and anger, with moments of hope. But to be able to put all that aside and write a story that is full of fun and imagination takes someone who is a real CREATIVE.
What about you? What story would YOU tell?
‘The wolf will live with the lamb; the leopard will lie down with the young goat. The calf and the lion will graze together, and a little child will lead them.’ Isaiah 11:6
TLB