They are here, I am here

Some books leave us free and some books make us free.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, lecturer, poet, and leader of the Transcendentalist movement in the mid-19th century

Late this afternoon I was at Eastwind Books of Berkeley because my books had arrived. I was in a fog as I held the book in my hands and then opened to the title page to sign the pre-ordered books. The book had some weight to it, which surprised me. The galleys, of course, were in paperback, and light in the hand, but I was still amazed by the book’s heft. Maybe I was just in a daze period. After 18 years, after a grueling eight-month editing/production process, after never imagining I would be in this position when 2015 arrived, and after feeling as if I was going to miss the 50th Anniversary of the Delano Grape Strike altogether, I am finally here.

And tomorrow late afternoon, we journey to Delano for reading, signing, communing, and meeting new friends.

Fresh out of the box.

Fresh out of the box.

Finished signing the pre-ordered books for good friends, translators, family friends, relatives, and even Oregon State University's Ethnic Studies Program - #GoBeavers!

Finished signing the pre-ordered books for good friends, translators, family friends, relatives, and even Oregon State University’s Ethnic Studies Program – #GoBeavers!