Researching for one of my books has always been part of the process I love. For Downward Spiral mybook.to/DownwardSpiral, meeting with young people about where they spent their time on and around campus, seeing them at coffee shops, and just discussing their frustrations and stresses were eye-opening to me as a teacher. My Time: After the Tears Dry (unpublished) gave my husband and me a laughable moment. I was researching divorce proceedings downstairs, printing information that I thought necessary. My husband was working upstairs, where the printer is located. He came downstairs with papers in his hands, asking me if there was something I wanted to discuss with him. Poor guy. I thought that was very diplomatic of him. But the research I am doing now is stunning.
I am currently writing a nonfiction narrative about two Franklin County Sheriff Deputies who were a part of the Drug Task Force. Because of my brief tenure as Cleveland’s First Lady, I saw quite a bit of people in dire needs. I met people in recovery. As a teacher in Cleveland, I visited the homes of young people who were not living in ideal environments. But interviewing these two men has given me another perception of how desperate our human condition can be.
We hear so much about individuals in all careers who are deviant examples of any career. The news is full of priests, teachers, police, and politicians who are not credits to their vocations. Everyone in those careers has to bear the brunt of the discredited.
As I write their stories, I often stop and wonder how they came out alive, how they still navigate around other humans, and how they remain still dedicated to helping others. They now believe enforcement is primary, but education is on an equal level.
Let me know if you are interested in someday reading about the world of undercover in Becoming Street Smart.