This is really hard to come to terms with. The greater the vulnerability, the greater the exposure.Įvery time I post something, it is putting a piece of myself out there, a part of myself which is open to criticism, rejection and even exposes my own biases and blind-spots. And, the more intimate, real and raw the blog, the more vulnerable and exposed I feel - the greater the fear. It may even surprise you to know that every, single, time, I post a personal blog, I am nervous. But I have a confession to make - every time I do something new, I feel scared shitless. When I look at my life, it is definitely the road-less-travelled that I have opted for.

Often, I have people telling me things like - “Oh, wow, you’re so brave, I couldn’t… move to a new country, start a new job, follow my heart without logic, post my writing…” Or insert anything else here. Without sounding arrogant, it’s a word people often use to describe me. Genie thinks that is AWESOME until he realizes Ernie has no interest in learning how to shoot. It’s his fourteenth birthday, and, Grandpop says to become a man, you have to learn how to shoot a gun. Then Ernie lets him down in the bravery department. And when he finds the secret room that Grandpop is always disappearing into-a room so full of songbirds and plants that it’s almost as if it’s been pulled inside-out-he begins to wonder if his grandfather is really so brave after all. How does he match his clothes? Know where to walk? Cook with a gas stove? Pour a glass of sweet tea without spilling it? Genie thinks Grandpop must be the bravest guy he’s ever known, but he starts to notice that his grandfather never leaves the house-as in NEVER.

Thunderstruck and-being a curious kid-Genie peppers Grandpop with questions about how he covers it so well (besides wearing way cool Ray-Bans). The first is that he and his big brother, Ernie, are leaving Brooklyn for the very first time to spend the summer with their grandparents all the way in Virginia-in the COUNTRY! The second surprise comes when Genie figures out that their grandfather is blind. When two brothers decide to prove how brave they are, everything backfires-literally-in this piercing middle grade novel by the winner of the Coretta Scott King – John Steptoe Award.

As brave as you are