Be that as it may, there's something incredibly satisfying and, well, just plain right about reading the old-fashioned way. The get out a flashlight and burrow under the covers kind of way. No illuminated screen, just real paper in your hands, pages turned instead of loaded.
Yesterday, I got to hold my writing in my hands for the first time, and I'm not going to lie; it felt pretty good. Flipping through the pages of my blog from my first year with Mercy Ships felt really organic, if that makes any sense. I could see so clearly how I moved through that year because I didn't have to stop reading every few minutes to load a new screen on my browser.And the cool thing about the website I used to make the book is that it serves as an independent bookstore. Which means that you, if you're crazy enough, could go here, preview the book and buy a copy for yourself. (There's a button in the sidebar now that will take you there, too.) Heck, I'm planning on making one for each outreach, so by the time HoJ and I leave the ship for good, you might have enough of these things to fill a whole shelf!
Blurb lets you pick your own price for selling your book, with the understanding that you earn the profits above the manufacturing costs. Which is why, if you're actually considering buying this thing, the price seems high. I was talking with another of the nurses about this today, and she gave me a great idea. One of our Togolese day volunteers, a housekeeper named Amelie, was just diagnosed with leukemia, and we've been taking up a collection to help pay for her treatment, since she's going to be losing her job in a month when we sail away.
Wouldn't it be cool to set aside the money from the book for crew and day volunteers who have needs like Amelie, she asked me, and I knew it was the right thing to do.
My cousin Dave calls it love money, this secret stash of cash that it's always good to have on hand for needs like this. For the patient's caregiver whose roof blows off in a storm. For the mama who suddenly needs to pay for her baby's funeral instead of his formula. For a co-worker who gets sick and lives in a country where money for treatment is so hard to come by.
I'm not saying we're going to solve the world's problems with the couple of dollars this might raise, and I don't want you to feel like I'm guilting you into buying it. Money isn't just hard to come by in Togo; I know that.
Just know that if you want to hold a copy of these wild ramblings in your hands, a few of the dollars you spend will go towards love, half a world away.
