What is the Backstory to Legacy?
I never intended to write a book. It just…sort of…happened.
I sat down one morning to write a simple 6-8 stanza poem as a tribute to a story my father used to tell us. Like most children, my brothers and I expected our father to tell us a story every night as we drifted off to sleep. One of the hundreds of stories he’d tell featured a little bee who was scared to death…but made brave choices to become a hero. At the end of the story, Dad would punctuate it with a little phrase that has stuck with me my whole life…he’d say “be noble.”
Well, eight stanzas grew to eighteen, which grew even more; a chapter was formed. When I presented it to my dad, his eyes widened like I was introducing to him a grandchild… his own flesh and blood.
For the next few years, we’d form the plot together and I’d write more lines. Every morning I’d send him what I’ve written. And we’d really talk about life’s most meaningful things. That little poem grew into 30,000 words of easily understood verse and reads just like a story. But not a children’s book. Truly unique in the world of literature.
But one morning, the writing stopped. My blinking cursor was no longer an impatient tapping finger waiting for the next word. It had become a heartbeat of something alive and ready to exist. Legacy was done—14 chapters, punctuated not by ‘the end’ but with ‘be noble.”
I imagine that most authors celebrate when a work is done, but remember, I didn’t set out to be an author. This project was a bridge that connected me with father. When the story was done, it was like the music stopped and the dance ended. Now what?
“Let’s publish it,” he said. My first reaction to that felt like that dream when you show up to high school naked—exposed. The thought of sharing to the public this private thing was like broadcasting my personal prayers. No thank you.
The bridge that Dad and I built didn’t crumble or anything dramatic, but it became a byway that was traveled less. There was a void; we both felt it. Like fathers do, Dad sat me down. And I’ll never forget what he said. He said, “Michael, what you’ve written, the world needs right now. And the first person who needs it…is you.” I was scared. I’m still scared.
Legacy is a book that addresses fear in all it’s many forms, and shows the reader the real meaning of courage. Because what you choose to do in the growling face of fear, is what writes your Legacy. So, here I am…at the edge of the unknown…facing insurmountable odds, fighting whispers of self-doubt, just like the little bee in the story.
My name is Michael Pietrack, and I’m the author of Legacy. But I need your help to share this magnificent story with the world. Let’s inspire them to be noble in a time the world need it most. And in doing so, you’ll help me preserve my father’s legacy.
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