|
It
is not unusual for a reader to claim that a book changed
her life or pointed her in a new direction. Many have
memories of an “Aha” moment that came when
they were reading a classic or an especially insightful
self-help book.
Author
Alexis Powers’ story is quite different. Her life
was changed because she wrote a book.
The
ink has been drying on Paths to Freedom for
some time so it not the exciting trek an author finds
herself taking after having published a book, nor the
book’s promise as a best seller that has made
the difference for Powers. It was the process of profiling
twelve courageous women that has clarified so much for
her.
Powers
was raised in a tenement district of New York City;
five family members lived in two rooms. She suffered
years of acute asthma. This kind of hardship led her
to alcoholism. Sixteen years sober, the author is now
a successful real estate agent and has written two mystery
books. Even with that kind of turn-around in her life,
she feels her experiences writing this book were more
important because they touched her heart.
An
interview with Shirley Manning at the Foundation for
the Junior Blind affected her deeply. “I had never
seen multi-disabled children before,” she says.
That day they were all “seeing” a video
of an outing the children had taken to the beach. Volunteer
professional surfers were teaching these children to
climb onto boards and to shoot the waves. “I’m
an excellent swimmer,” Powers says. “And
I wouldn’t do that. Courage is the word that came
to mind.”
Each
of the twelve interviews offered a similar awakening—some
large and looming, some small but important. One of
the featured women, Gloria Killian, never gave up hope
after being imprisoned for a crime she didn’t
commit. “I came to see that the difference between
these people and many others I knew were that my subjects
didn’t see themselves as victims!”
“That’s
when I realized that I shared that same quality with
them, and that I needed to make some changes in my life—to
take better advantage of that aspect of my personality.”
Powers
says, “Since I’ve been writing this book,
I’m an even more appreciative American.”
Although she is a second generation American she feels
that citizens aren’t generally grateful enough
for what their country offers, especially in terms of
benefits for the less fortunate.
When
this author was interviewing Idilko Choy, she explained
how she and her seamstress mother had fled the Stalin
regime with only the clothes they were wearing. Alexis
flashed on her own habit of marking milestones in her
life according to what she was wearing. “I just
love clothes,” she said. The importance Alexis
had always placed on fashion suddenly seemed very fragile
indeed.
In
addition to writing this book—Powers believes
Paths to Freedom: Women Who Triumphed over Adversity
can help others see their own lives differently—she
plans to change the kind of charity work she does to
a more hands-on kind of philanthropy.
In
many ways Paths to Freedom has become Powers’
own path to freedom. It may be ordered on Amazon.com
|
