While I have a moment, I want to update you on what's been happening with The Crying Tree since it hit the shelves just three weeks ago.
First, I just learned my novel has been ranked Number 4 on the San Francisco Chronicle's Best Seller list. I attribute this to the wonderful efforts of my agent, my team at Broadway, a great group of Indie book stores, and the palpable enthusiasm readers have for the book.
So far, I have had four  readings, all of which were well attended by people eager to talk about The Crying Tree. The latest, here in Chautauqua, was accompanied by a wonderful article in the Daily Chautauquan. This week I will also be speaking at four bookstores in and around Buffalo, New York. If you have friends or family in the area, please take a look at the events page on my web site naseemrakha.com, and invite them to join.
The news about my now being a "best selling author" comes as I am happily ensconced in the literature and lectures at The Chautauqua Institute. Every year, my family and I come to this beautiful part of the world to hear some of the world's foremost experts speak on topics as wide ranging as global warming to the Abrahamic traditions. This week's theme is What Makes Man Moral, and this morning Elie Wiesel spoke to the issue. I was moved as he recounted telling the German President about his years imprisoned in Auschwitz where his mother, father and sister had all been killed. A week after their meeting, the German leader appeared before the Israeli Knesset and apologized for the atrocities of the Second World War. "With his apology," said Wiesel, "came my forgiveness."
His words were a powerful example of the power of story -- and how necessary it is that we learn to both tell our own, and listen to others.
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