by Debby Giusti My book club’s read last month was SARAH’S KEY, by Tatiana de Rosnay, a fictional story about a terrible event in France’s history that some in that country wish to forget. On June 16, 1942, nearly 10,000 Jews, many of them children, were rounded up—not by German Nazis—but by French police and held for six days without food or water in the Vélodrome d’Hiver, an indoor stadium used for sporting events. The conditions were deplorable, sanitation was non-existent and many died in the unbearable heat within the tightly enclosed structure. Those who survived were eventually herded onto transport cars and taken to a camp outside the city, where parents were separated from their children and, a few days later, sent to the gas chambers at Auschwitz.
Stumbling upon information as she browsed the Internet, French author Tatiana de Rosnay says, “I realized I didn’t know much about what exactly happened that day. I was not taught about this event at school, during the ‘70s. And it still seemed to be shrouded by some kind of taboo. So I started reading and researching.”Eventually, she wrote the story that was first released in her native country and then picked up by St. Martin’s Press for publication in the U.S. The novel chronicles the lives of two heroines—one a young Jewish girl arrested on that terrible day in 1942. The other is a modern-day journalist in Paris assigned to write a magazine article about
the sixtieth anniversary of the seemingly forgotten event. The lives of the two characters intertwine as Tatiana reveals the horrors of the roundup and the ramifications that play out in France today. Tatiana had the courage to write a difficult story about a dark time in her country’s history in hopes that, by knowing the past, we will be ever vigilant to ensure nothing similar happens in the future.
Over the weekend, I read an article about Gene Patterson, a Georgia journalist who wrote for the Atlanta Constitution, during the civil rights movement in the 1960s. When a church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, killed four African-American children, Patterson penned an editorial, which began, “A Negro mother wept in the street Sunday morning in front of a Baptist Church in Birmingham. In her hand she held a shoe, one shoe, from the foot of her dead child. We hold that shoe with her.”
With unrelenting determination, Patterson took up the cause for integration and radial equality. Threats were made to his life, and the Ku Klux Klan frequently picketed the newspaper building where he worked, but Patterson had the courage to be a voice of reason in a stormy sea of unrest. His editorials helped change the hearts and minds of the old South and earned him the Pulitzer Price in 1967. Six months before my first book sold, the word courage played repeatedly through my mind and appeared wherever I looked, in newspaper articles, on television shows, in the books I read. I didn’t need a degree in theology to know God was placing the word in my path for a reason. At first, I feared it concerned my son who was deployed to Iraq, but upon reflection after I received “The Call” a short time later, I realized courage is a necessary virtue for any writer to possess. Courage, or fortitude, strengthens us to continue on in the face of rejection and to step boldly into new, uncharted territory when the Lord calls us forth.
As writers, I believe we have a responsibility to use the talent God has given us for a greater good. A wordsmith can craft a letter of recommendation that sells a person or product, affirms the excellent service received from a hardworking employee or heaps well-deserved praise on a teacher who has laid a strong foundation for a child’s future progress. Are you using our gift to uplift and affirm?
The Christian fiction writer is given an opportunity to bring his or her characters to faith and in so doing can impact readers as well. But, even in fiction, the faith thread must be gently woven. Is there, perhaps, another forum where God is asking you to proclaim him as Lord and Savior?In prayer, I always hear God telling me that his children are hurting and need to know of His love and mercy. Are you doing enough to spread the message of His love?
Recently, our world has been stricken with disasters—fires in Arizona, floods in Nashville, tornadoes in Minnesota and a massive oil spill in the Gulf. A mountain of pain lies behind each catastrophe. Are you being asked to reach out to those struggling to rebuild their lives after their world has crumbled into oblivion?Politics aside, we know our economy is teetering on a giant precipice, just as other countries, such as Greece and Spain, are near collapse. Do you have advice or words of caution in the face of such an eminent threat of financial ruin?
Pick up any newspaper or listen to any local newscast and you’ll see stories about strife and heartache. Are you troubled about an injustice that needs a spokesperson? Could you be the lone voice shedding light on a situation or problem in your local community?
How are you using your gift of writing? Are you a courageous writer or are you ignoring a call to action the Lord may be placing on your heart?
I’m eager to hear your thoughts and hope you’ll share examples of people you know who made a difference, who stepped out in faith, who took the hard road that did not bring popularity but did effect change for the better?
I’m eager to hear your thoughts and hope you’ll share examples of people you know who made a difference, who stepped out in faith, who took the hard road that did not bring popularity but did effect change for the better?
Grab a cup of coffee. I brought some of Paula Dean’s favorite Southern fare from her Lady and Sons Restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, so help yourself to the Lady’s perfect scrambled eggs, smothered chicken and biscuits, chocolate chip pancakes with cinnamon cream and pineapple blueberry crunch cake. You’ll find the recipes at: http://www.pauladeen.com/index.php/recipes/category/breakfast_and_brunch/P0/
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