E-Mail from JRE about his new book, Home

Dear Benny,

There are lots of folks who have a stake in reminding Americans about the things we disagree about -- and we've certainly heard from them over the past few weeks. But what really makes America great is this -- our differences are outweighed by the things we share in common.

And for most of us, that common ground starts in the place we first called "home." Whether it was a small apartment or a mansion, in a city or on a farm, home is where we learned our values, took our first steps into the larger world, and began to become who we are today.

My new book, Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives, is filled with the stories of American homes -- all kinds of homes, from well-known Americans to wonderful people you'll be meeting for the first time -- together, their voices reveal an inspiring story of a country united in its hopes and aspirations.

Home comes out next Tuesday, November 14th; I'm donating all the proceeds to charity. Right now, though, I wanted to give you and all the members of our online community a chance to read a little bit of Home before it comes out. You deserve it -- because Home wouldn't exist without you. You may remember that my daughter Cate asked all of you to nominate people for the book about a year ago. Well, we received thousands of responses -- and the stories we got from you make up about half of the 60 stories in the book.

As I mentioned, some of the contributors are well known and it's fun to read about their early lives. Steven Spielberg talks about making his first movie while living in his boyhood home. Hank Azaria tells about the impressions he used to do in his bedroom late at night. Maya Lin discusses some of the places where she first found inspiration for her architecture. There are stories from Donna Brazile, Tommy Franks, Barry Switzer, Vera Wang, and Rick Warren, and many more.

Click here to be one of the first to read an excerpt from my book.

Other contributors are from the One America community. Gregory Vasquez, a field auditor from Newton, Iowa, writes about how his widowed mother raised him and his brothers in a house with no indoor plumbing and an outhouse. A young woman named Mary Catherine Brouder tells us about growing up with her parents and two sisters and a brother -- seven in all -- in a four room apartment in the Bronx.

Every story is remarkable for its honesty, insight and warmth. But what really struck me is how, despite all the differences in background and circumstance, every story is remarkably similar. The memories are similar -- sitting around the kitchen table, parents coming home from work, finding ways to have fun -- but, even more important, the same values and the same dreams live in every home.

This excerpt includes a little bit of my introduction to the book, Danny Glover's story of life in his boyhood home in San Francisco, and Robert Carr's story of growing up in three different structures, including a sheep camp, on an Indian reservation.


Even if you're busy right now, I hope you'll take a moment to get your excerpt of Home. Read it over a cup of coffee when you have time. Then let me know what you think, and share your own memories of home.

Your friend,

John

------------

I read the first excerpts. Each shows a childhood home, then writes about her/his experiences living in the home. One of the excerpts was composed by a native American. It's cool.

My copy arrives on Tuesday. Have you ordered yours?

Oh, JRE is going to be on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on November 14th and on the David Letterman Show on Friday, November 17th. Should be entertaining.

Tags: John Edwards, Home: Blueprints of Our Lives, book tour, benny's world