January 22, 2025 • 11 mins
LS Kirkpatrick and John David Graham dive into the plot of Graham's latest book, discussing its intriguing cover and the inspiration behind the story. They explore the influences that shaped the narrative and the development of its characters, particularly focusing on the protagonist's challenges and the overarching theme of hope. The conversation includes insights into reader reactions and the possibility of a sequel, along with a look at Graham's future projects. The episode wraps up with information on where listeners can find the book.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello, and welcome to another episode of 52plus new books.
New to me, maybe they're new to you.
But today, we have John here who's gonna sharehis book with us.
How are you doing today, John?
Well, I it's been a hectic couple months withthe the all the social political stuff.
And, I just being on these podcasts is the onlyrelaxation I have, surprisingly.
(00:27):
I can put away politics and just enjoy theoptimism of writing.
That's right.
I love this.
So tell us about your book.
What is the title?
Well, the title is, Running as Fast as I Can.
And it's, the idea is it's a fictional storyabout a coming of age, about one man's journey
(00:48):
growing up from an abusive family in the 19sixties and traveling through the turbulent
sixties seventies eighties looking to find afamily where he can have love and forgiveness.
And so I like to tell that Forrest Gump type ofstory, but, a little more somber than that.
Okay.
(01:09):
Okay.
I love the cover you have on there too.
That's that's having a cover that's separatefrom, the title.
Instead of showing your runner, you showsomeone who's who's stopped, who's sitting
down, has his head covered, and not wearingrunning shoes.
I think that was very clever to do that.
So where did this idea come from?
(01:32):
Well, it's it's not autobiographical, but, it'sart all fiction is rooted in some reality.
And, if you ever read the the classic novelcalled Of Human Bondage, it's about a boy, who
was, gross.
He had a clubfoot, and he was in a very austereEnglish family.
(01:52):
And he grew up with this this attitude of beingsecond class.
He felt like he was, handicapped because hephysically was, but mentally, he was
handicapped.
And because of that, he found himself inabusive situation.
Oh, wow.
Because he was emotionally, he was club footed.
(02:13):
And what I've learned from the readers since wepublished this in December is that many, many
people identify with Daniel Robinson, the maincharacter, because it's not like he grew up in
a in a terrible home.
He grew up in a home where he said that we weate at the same table.
We had the same last name.
(02:35):
So, yeah, keep telling me more about this thisjourney.
Tell a story that I call every man because, allof us it's not that we come from terrible
families.
We come from families that Daniel described asliving alone together.
And and because you don't have the the the thetraining or the structure or the boundaries to
(02:58):
know how to even begin to find the startingline, we feel like we're always behind in the
race.
We feel like we're always trying to figure outwhere the, what where the race is even being
run.
Correct.
And and I think many of us, for example, if ifyou grew up with 2 professional parents who
were college graduates, they would teach you togo to college.
(03:21):
They would expect that from you.
You'd be
involved in civic groups.
You'd be involved in in your own club.
But many of us didn't have the even theunderstanding of that.
So we grew up basically trying to teachourselves, and you end up feeling so far behind
that you even though you're running as fast asyou can, you can never quite catch up to the
(03:45):
what we call the normal people.
Right.
That's why Daniel spent years just trying toeven know how to begin the race because he had
no, no background, no tool, and he made a lotof mistakes.
And this is what the readers are coming backand saying, I I I understand Daniel.
I've been in that boat.
(04:06):
I I know how he feels.
And one one reader said, I found myself rootingfor him and angry when he made those mistakes
and happy when he finally resolved them.
That's awesome.
That's
what I wanted.
Yeah.
I love that.
I love reading a book where where you get soinvolved with the characters and the storyline
(04:29):
that's going on that you do become emotional.
It's like, you know, don't do that again.
What are you thinking?
Where where did you go?
And it's like or it's like, what are they goingto do next?
Because it's it's so intriguing that I knowwhat I would do, but this character seems to be
going a different path.
(04:49):
So, yeah, so that sounds wonderful.
I've read the book a thousand times, obviously,and I still have the same emotional reaction
when Daniel hurts Ruthie or when he goes backto Elizabeth and when he knows he's
destructive.
Or I I still feel elated when he finds Kate.
(05:10):
Even though I know the outcome, I still feelthe same emotion.
That's exactly what I wanted the reader tofeel.
Yeah.
So it's not it came through.
A friend of mine who's reading it, she justreached the point where Daniel had made this
tragic mistake by going back with Elizabeth.
And, she said, I was so mad.
(05:30):
I was screaming at him.
Those are the greatest books.
I love that.
I love it.
Now I have a question for you.
You've you've written this amazing book.
You've got to know this young man.
You've got to know the people he's involvedwith.
How do you end your story?
(05:50):
I mean, you you finished your story.
You've got it done, but you've got thischaracter you spent so much time with.
How do you say goodbye to your character?
Well, I started a sequel trying to, cover thethe the years after the book ended.
And I only done done one one chapter because,I've spent so much time sharing this story now
(06:14):
that it's it's all consuming because it's notabout the book.
It's not about selling books.
You know?
I I yeah.
We've sold several 1,000 copies, and it'sgarnered 25 awards.
But what I'm most interested in is a discussionlike this about the issue, homeless, about
family abuse or sexual abuse, about, drug abusethat was common in San Francisco in 1968.
(06:44):
It's about love found and love lost and lovefound again.
These are universal issues.
Yes.
But the overriding issue that applies today isthere's a stream of hope that comes through the
book that where Daniel says, as long as I keeprunning, as long as I keep trying, maybe I'll
(07:05):
find hope.
Maybe I'll find what I'm looking for.
But he realizes that hope is a very fragilething.
Yes.
And it's not something that simply, you canjust decide and there it is.
Life is not a sprint.
It's a marathon.
We have to run the long race.
Right.
You know, in one of the talks that I've given,I actually talk about hope because someone had
(07:31):
told me that hope is just something nice yousay to people, and it's like, no, it's so much
more than that.
Hope is always around us.
So maybe you can't see it because so manythings have happened that that you just can't
look up and find it.
But hope is always there, and hope is what getsyou to where you're going.
(07:53):
And I love that you've put this in the bookthat shows that lifelong pursuit of hope even
though it's right here with us, and and it'swhat gives us the light at the end of the
tunnel.
It's what shows us that, yeah, there is moreahead.
We don't have to give up today because this istemporary.
And and the message you have in your book isreally powerful.
(08:15):
Well, without giving away the, climax, whenDaniel reaches the point where he's found
happiness and love, there's always in in reallife, it may not end there.
And that's where the real lesson comes in whenDaniel deals with tragedy.
And I'm not gonna say what it is, but he dealswith tragedy, and, ironically, the one who
(08:39):
helps him through it was the man that hethought he was helping with his issues.
It was a man who's been in prison for 20 yearsfor a crime he didn't commit.
He had very little formal education.
And Daniel said, I have 3 degrees, and and andand I I'm here to help him, but the truth is
(08:59):
he's helping me to learn how to forgive.
And that's, to
me, the real story of the book.
Yeah.
Because that's that's a tough one, you know, toforgive something that's so horrific that
happened.
And how do you even begin?
Why would you even begin?
And and I'm sure you address those in yourbook.
(09:21):
Where can we find your book?
It's available on Amazon, and, it, it justrunning as fast as I can or John David Graham
can find it.
But, also, my own website is johndavidgram.com.
Mhmm.
And, the thing is, for those who are fiscallyfrugal, you can download the first 3 or 4
(09:46):
chapters for free.
Oh, nice.
Nice.
Just enough to get us involved, though.
We have to get the book.
I love that.
But that's good.
Generally, what people tell me is they theycan't talk.
They can't put it down.
They the one man at 91 years old said he was upat 3 in the morning reading the book.
He couldn't stop reading.
And that's that's good to hear.
(10:07):
That is.
That's awesome.
I love those stories.
They're wonderful.
Well, John, thank you so much for being here,and and I really appreciate you sharing about
your book.
That's that's just so fantastic.
So go to amazon.com or go to johndavidgram.comand get this book.
Tell us again the title.
(10:28):
Running as Fast as I Can.
I love that.
It has something to
do with marathon running, but it has everythingto do with life running.
That's right.
And we have, we can look forward to the what doyou call it?
2nd the second edition.
That's not right.
We're looking
(10:48):
Sequel.
To the sequel.
Yeah.
That's that's a good time.
It it the thing is, it took me 10 years towrite this book, and 7 of those years was in
editing because, I have found that it the firstdraft's easy.
But writing is easy.
Writing well is very difficult.
(11:09):
Yep.
That's it.
Yeah.
And if you want it to be a really great story,you have to get that editing in there.
I totally agree with that.
Editing in light too.
You know, I I said Yeah.
It it you have to edit not just the book, butedit your light in the process so you get a
finished product when you're done.
Oh, that's awesome.
(11:30):
Well, thank you so much for being here on 52plus new books, and go out and get his book.
I'm so excited about this.
I think that's where I'm gonna go right afterthis.
We'll see you next time on 52 plus new books.
Thank you so much.
Hello, and welcome to another episode of 52plus new books.
New to me, maybe they're new to you.
But today, we have John here who's gonna sharehis book with us.
How are you doing today, John?
Well, I it's been a hectic couple months withthe the all the social political stuff.
And, I just being on these podcasts is the onlyrelaxation I have, surprisingly.
(00:27):
I can put away politics and just enjoy theoptimism of writing.
That's right.
I love this.
So tell us about your book.
What is the title?
Well, the title is, Running as Fast as I Can.
And it's, the idea is it's a fictional storyabout a coming of age, about one man's journey
(00:48):
growing up from an abusive family in the 19sixties and traveling through the turbulent
sixties seventies eighties looking to find afamily where he can have love and forgiveness.
And so I like to tell that Forrest Gump type ofstory, but, a little more somber than that.
Okay.
(01:09):
Okay.
I love the cover you have on there too.
That's that's having a cover that's separatefrom, the title.
Instead of showing your runner, you showsomeone who's who's stopped, who's sitting
down, has his head covered, and not wearingrunning shoes.
I think that was very clever to do that.
So where did this idea come from?
(01:32):
Well, it's it's not autobiographical, but, it'sart all fiction is rooted in some reality.
And, if you ever read the the classic novelcalled Of Human Bondage, it's about a boy, who
was, gross.
He had a clubfoot, and he was in a very austereEnglish family.
(01:52):
And he grew up with this this attitude of beingsecond class.
He felt like he was, handicapped because hephysically was, but mentally, he was
handicapped.
And because of that, he found himself inabusive situation.
Oh, wow.
Because he was emotionally, he was club footed.
(02:13):
And what I've learned from the readers since wepublished this in December is that many, many
people identify with Daniel Robinson, the maincharacter, because it's not like he grew up in
a in a terrible home.
He grew up in a home where he said that we weate at the same table.
We had the same last name.
(02:35):
So, yeah, keep telling me more about this thisjourney.
Tell a story that I call every man because, allof us it's not that we come from terrible
families.
We come from families that Daniel described asliving alone together.
And and because you don't have the the the thetraining or the structure or the boundaries to
(02:58):
know how to even begin to find the startingline, we feel like we're always behind in the
race.
We feel like we're always trying to figure outwhere the, what where the race is even being
run.
Correct.
And and I think many of us, for example, if ifyou grew up with 2 professional parents who
were college graduates, they would teach you togo to college.
(03:21):
They would expect that from you.
You'd be
involved in civic groups.
You'd be involved in in your own club.
But many of us didn't have the even theunderstanding of that.
So we grew up basically trying to teachourselves, and you end up feeling so far behind
that you even though you're running as fast asyou can, you can never quite catch up to the
(03:45):
what we call the normal people.
Right.
That's why Daniel spent years just trying toeven know how to begin the race because he had
no, no background, no tool, and he made a lotof mistakes.
And this is what the readers are coming backand saying, I I I understand Daniel.
I've been in that boat.
(04:06):
I I know how he feels.
And one one reader said, I found myself rootingfor him and angry when he made those mistakes
and happy when he finally resolved them.
That's awesome.
That's
what I wanted.
Yeah.
I love that.
I love reading a book where where you get soinvolved with the characters and the storyline
(04:29):
that's going on that you do become emotional.
It's like, you know, don't do that again.
What are you thinking?
Where where did you go?
And it's like or it's like, what are they goingto do next?
Because it's it's so intriguing that I knowwhat I would do, but this character seems to be
going a different path.
(04:49):
So, yeah, so that sounds wonderful.
I've read the book a thousand times, obviously,and I still have the same emotional reaction
when Daniel hurts Ruthie or when he goes backto Elizabeth and when he knows he's
destructive.
Or I I still feel elated when he finds Kate.
(05:10):
Even though I know the outcome, I still feelthe same emotion.
That's exactly what I wanted the reader tofeel.
Yeah.
So it's not it came through.
A friend of mine who's reading it, she justreached the point where Daniel had made this
tragic mistake by going back with Elizabeth.
And, she said, I was so mad.
(05:30):
I was screaming at him.
Those are the greatest books.
I love that.
I love it.
Now I have a question for you.
You've you've written this amazing book.
You've got to know this young man.
You've got to know the people he's involvedwith.
How do you end your story?
(05:50):
I mean, you you finished your story.
You've got it done, but you've got thischaracter you spent so much time with.
How do you say goodbye to your character?
Well, I started a sequel trying to, cover thethe the years after the book ended.
And I only done done one one chapter because,I've spent so much time sharing this story now
(06:14):
that it's it's all consuming because it's notabout the book.
It's not about selling books.
You know?
I I yeah.
We've sold several 1,000 copies, and it'sgarnered 25 awards.
But what I'm most interested in is a discussionlike this about the issue, homeless, about
family abuse or sexual abuse, about, drug abusethat was common in San Francisco in 1968.
(06:44):
It's about love found and love lost and lovefound again.
These are universal issues.
Yes.
But the overriding issue that applies today isthere's a stream of hope that comes through the
book that where Daniel says, as long as I keeprunning, as long as I keep trying, maybe I'll
(07:05):
find hope.
Maybe I'll find what I'm looking for.
But he realizes that hope is a very fragilething.
Yes.
And it's not something that simply, you canjust decide and there it is.
Life is not a sprint.
It's a marathon.
We have to run the long race.
Right.
You know, in one of the talks that I've given,I actually talk about hope because someone had
(07:31):
told me that hope is just something nice yousay to people, and it's like, no, it's so much
more than that.
Hope is always around us.
So maybe you can't see it because so manythings have happened that that you just can't
look up and find it.
But hope is always there, and hope is what getsyou to where you're going.
(07:53):
And I love that you've put this in the bookthat shows that lifelong pursuit of hope even
though it's right here with us, and and it'swhat gives us the light at the end of the
tunnel.
It's what shows us that, yeah, there is moreahead.
We don't have to give up today because this istemporary.
And and the message you have in your book isreally powerful.
(08:15):
Well, without giving away the, climax, whenDaniel reaches the point where he's found
happiness and love, there's always in in reallife, it may not end there.
And that's where the real lesson comes in whenDaniel deals with tragedy.
And I'm not gonna say what it is, but he dealswith tragedy, and, ironically, the one who
(08:39):
helps him through it was the man that hethought he was helping with his issues.
It was a man who's been in prison for 20 yearsfor a crime he didn't commit.
He had very little formal education.
And Daniel said, I have 3 degrees, and and andand I I'm here to help him, but the truth is
(08:59):
he's helping me to learn how to forgive.
And that's, to
me, the real story of the book.
Yeah.
Because that's that's a tough one, you know, toforgive something that's so horrific that
happened.
And how do you even begin?
Why would you even begin?
And and I'm sure you address those in yourbook.
(09:21):
Where can we find your book?
It's available on Amazon, and, it, it justrunning as fast as I can or John David Graham
can find it.
But, also, my own website is johndavidgram.com.
Mhmm.
And, the thing is, for those who are fiscallyfrugal, you can download the first 3 or 4
(09:46):
chapters for free.
Oh, nice.
Nice.
Just enough to get us involved, though.
We have to get the book.
I love that.
But that's good.
Generally, what people tell me is they theycan't talk.
They can't put it down.
They the one man at 91 years old said he was upat 3 in the morning reading the book.
He couldn't stop reading.
And that's that's good to hear.
(10:07):
That is.
That's awesome.
I love those stories.
They're wonderful.
Well, John, thank you so much for being here,and and I really appreciate you sharing about
your book.
That's that's just so fantastic.
So go to amazon.com or go to johndavidgram.comand get this book.
Tell us again the title.
(10:28):
Running as Fast as I Can.
I love that.
It has something to
do with marathon running, but it has everythingto do with life running.
That's right.
And we have, we can look forward to the what doyou call it?
2nd the second edition.
That's not right.
We're looking
(10:48):
Sequel.
To the sequel.
Yeah.
That's that's a good time.
It it the thing is, it took me 10 years towrite this book, and 7 of those years was in
editing because, I have found that it the firstdraft's easy.
But writing is easy.
Writing well is very difficult.
(11:09):
Yep.
That's it.
Yeah.
And if you want it to be a really great story,you have to get that editing in there.
I totally agree with that.
Editing in light too.
You know, I I said Yeah.
It it you have to edit not just the book, butedit your light in the process so you get a
finished product when you're done.
Oh, that's awesome.
(11:30):
Well, thank you so much for being here on 52plus new books, and go out and get his book.
I'm so excited about this.
I think that's where I'm gonna go right afterthis.
We'll see you next time on 52 plus new books.
Thank you so much.
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