Why A Few Teachers Kept Me From Becoming A Lawyer

That's right. I was meant to be a lawyer.
I went to college thinking that's what I'd do and picked pre-law as my major. Luckily, choosing pre-law meant lots of English classes and a scattering of other Liberal Arts courses — all of which enriched my love of language, art, and history.
I might have loved learning, but that didn't mean I was great at any of it.
That is,until I entered the 6th grade and was lucky enough to end up in Mr. Bowden's class. One day he said, "You really get a twinkle in your eye when you work on creative writing projects. I think you have a gift for writing. Would you like to do some more for extra credit?"
That was it. The invitation to take the road less traveled. I didn't realize it then, but Mr. Bowden gave me the courage to tell my parents many years later I didn't want to go to law school and he, along with several other amazing teachers, gave me the courage to do what I love.
My new book, The Last Word, is dedicated to the teachers who nurtured my spirit, who saw a young girl thatwasn't great at sports, math, foreign language, drama, or singing, but had a certain sparkle when it came to dreaming up stories.
Was there a teacher who nurtured your spirit? Name them and thank them here and I will send one lucky guest a signed copy of The Last Word. And if you'd like to send one to that special teacher, I'll send you two copies!