My husband and I went to listen to William P. Young give a lecture at Warner Pacific College, here in Portland, Oregon Monday night.
I raised my hand and told the author that I felt the book was really two stories rolled up into one book and I asked him if he wrote it that way intentionally or if he wrote it in bits and pieces. He said, he started the book because his wife, Kim, wanted him to write something down that he could give to his children. He intended the story to be that gift to his kids for Christmas. And originally he went to Office Depot and printed out fifteen copies for his family and friends, never intending it to go any further than that. Today, The Shack has sold over 4 million copies.
He answered my question by saying that he started out by writing the conversations, as questions he wanted to ask as a child but was never allowed to ask.
He was warm and funny but even more. He was Real. He spoke from his heart about difficult subjects and he had the audience on the edge of their seat for the nearly two hours he shared his story with us.
Here is a short clip of him talking about growing up in Boring, Oregon. Yes, there is a place in Oregon that is truly Boring.
Posts
