My Friend Sam's New Book

After meditating, Sam would sometimes say he had had trouble getting into the sit because he was thinking about the book he was writing. Well, that was better than "My dog ate my homework." But then I recently got an invitation to hear Sam Fromartz read from his new book, Organic, Inc., at Politics and Prose. He really was writing a book that had been published after 3 years of his effort.

We attended a book launching party at Sam’s house on Capitol Hill over the weekend, where his friends and relatives all came together to laud his success. His 3-year-old daughter was proudly carrying around a copy of "Daddy's book". Among the guests were two organic farmers from south-central Pennsylvania, who had provided some of the inspiration for the book. We talked to them about the path that led them to organic farming and the difficulties that they face. They currently bring their produce to the Dupont Circle Farmers’ Market every week, where a growing set of customers await their arrival.

I haven’t read more than the jacket cover of my signed copy of Organic, Inc., and the writeup on the web which shows a handsome picture of Sam and gives an intriguing summary of the book. I’m thinking maybe I will extend the trend that has recently come upon our couples book club to read non-fiction. We have really enjoyed Tom Friedman’s "The World Is Flat" and Alexandra Fuller’s "Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight" and James Frey’s "A Million Little Pieces", even if it contains an element of fiction. So what’s one more?

Anyway, I think it really cool to know real published authors. I congratulate Sam on pursuing something that is important to him and is important to the future health of the world. I will take him seriously the next time he mentions book-related thoughts that are intruding on the quality of his sit!