I’ve been doing some reworking of Echoes of Freedom Past, my 2022 book that I must admit has underperformed compared to my expectations. I moved the short story “Letters from Camp” to the back to make it more of an appendix or bonus track, if you will. Plopped in the middle where it was, it felt more like an interruption of the musings, which flow better now. I added a Table of Contents, which was sorely lacking from the first edition, and now begin each musing on a new page as in my other books. I think the book breathes better now and is easier to negotiate. It re-launches Feb. 21.
Oh, and I also made it closer to the same size as my other books. I originally had Echoes published with the same dimensions as the Domino Project books of about 10 years ago, a sort of homage. But even the Domino Project books have since been republished in a somewhat larger size.
I consider Echoes of Freedom Past an extension of my Refuse to Be Afraid, and both are in the same neighborhood as my latest book, it’s going to be all right, which is kind of a hybrid of the first two and my encouragement books, because it attempts to fulfill its subtitle, “Reasons for hope in troubled times.”
And these are indeed troubled times. But still, aren’t they all? Haven’t we always talked about how we live in troubled times? Isn’t there always something that needs fixing?
It’s 15 years now since I had the epiphany in mid-sentence as I finished writing a piece called “An election party where nobody came.” I decried a system where would-be presidents run a gauntlet that results in a choice between two horrible finalists — a system that has deteriorated even further in the ensuing years.
I was going to conclude by saying, “Freedom is not about having the right ruler.” When I saw the words on my screen, I was compelled to add, “Oh wait, yes it is. Freedom is understanding that I am the boss of me.” I realized that freedom is when you take the reins of your life and “rule” yourself.
When you reach that understanding, it no longer matters that when you meet the new boss, s/he is the same as the old boss, because they’re not the real boss of your life anyway. That’s when you start refusing to be afraid, freeing yourself and dreaming. It’s when you start reclaiming and restoring those echoes of freedom past. And it’s when you understand, at last, that it’s going to be all right.