My daughter Madeline and I both remember the night, 25-years ago, when I raced home from an east coast business trip to wake her from a sound sleep to describe an idea for an illustrated book I wanted to create with her. It concerned an adventure we shared most summers on a sandbar in a Massachusetts bay, and it was important to us. Rather than being upset, she was excited! We both stayed up talking the idea through. “The Island Rose” depicts the crucial moment of discovery in the story. Remarkably, I finally finished the book just last month, you can’t imagine the relief – 25 years! While life prevented me from working on it every year in between, it does represent the most sustained effort I’ve put into any creative endeavor in my life. I’m not sure I’ve thought anything through more, while simultaneously letting deep feelings be the predominant guide. A challenging balance. Madeline has admitted being worried that I might expire before finishing it. I think we’re both relieved now.

Copies of the book are on sale here at VCA. I will also show a video version of the book during my  presentation on creativity, “If I Only Had a Brain,” in The Kay on Wednesday, April 16.