Good book, good cause

My heart is so wrapped up in this announcement that I can feel it beating through my fingertips.

I have been sitting on a ready-to-launch Kickstarter campaign for almost a month now. Contained within it are my two biggest hopes in my entire life — to become a published author and for Malachi to get the help he needs to become as independent as possible. As I have mentioned several times before, I believe the Anat Baniel Method (ABM) is our best chance at the latter, but it is prohibitively expensive.

So here's my crazy, imperfect, pie-in-the-sky, Dear-God-please-let-this-work idea:

I wrote and designed a children's book, which I will sell through Kickstarter, to pay for Malachi's treatments.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to present, for the very first time, for your viewing pleasure, Dark & Light: A love story for babies.

Malachi and JJ love to have it read to them over and over again, but more importantly, I enjoy reading it! The black and white images are simple enough that even a newborn will find it interesting, but the story is complex enough that an adult will enjoy reading it again and again... and again.

Anyway, you can (and should!) read more about it on my just-launched Kickstarter page. For those who haven't heard of Kickstarter, it is a way for creatives and inventors to raise the start-up capital needed to launch a product. In my case, I need to find at least 500 people interested in buying a copy of Dark & Light. If I don't raise at least $5,000, the project is dead and no money or books change hands. If I do, Malachi's future will suddenly brighten considerably.

Let me be absolutely clear on this point: ALL royalties from the sale of this book will go exclusively towards Malachi's medical needs. I have mentioned before how uncomfortable I am at the idea of fundraising but how desperately Malachi needs the money. If this project goes viral or is popular enough to attract the attention of a traditional publishing house, it very well could become a perpetual source of income for a problem that is not going to go away — instead of spending my life fundraising. Do you have any idea how wonderful that would be?

I am ignoring the voices in my head that say this unconventional approach is doomed to failure. I am taking the leap of faith that this will work and that dreams do come true.

You can be a part of my dream. In fact, you kinda have to. I most certainly can't do this alone. Please check out my Kickstarter page and watch the video of the book. If you like it, please buy a copy and then tell a friend.

Combined, our efforts will make a lifetime of difference to one very special little boy.

(You better believe I held my breath and closed my eyes when I pressed publish.)