Airports, Breweries, and Senior Living Communities: The Unofficial and Unconventional "Scratch My Itch" Book Tour

Three hundred and sixty-five days ago, I published my first book Scratch My Itch. When Wipf and Stock Publishers sent the email accepting my book proposal, I was positively giddy, or “vertiginous, reeling, and/or whirling” per our good friend Webster. In publishing my book, I felt emotions and excitement akin to when I had defended my doctoral dissertation, or when I gave birth to each of my three children (artistic license kids...don’t worry, my giving birth to you was, hands down, the best thing ever!). To get my book into the hands of people who would benefit most from reading it, I have spent the past year promoting it in all sorts of ways. I have reached out to caregiver and ALS-specific groups, hosted a launch party, held book signings at local bookstores, participated in author events like “Books and Brews”, hosted an author book talk at a senior living community, and twice visited Ink by Hudson at Dulles International Airport. My airport visits have been a favorite. 

For starters, airports are a buzz with activity and there is a palpable frenzy that comes with being in an airport — everyone is coming and going, a rush of anticipation as they fly off to their awaited destination or are grateful to be returning home. Airports now, more than ever, offer travelers amazing restaurants, bars, and shopping, and the airport has become an amazing destination itself. And the sport of people watching at the airport is a ten out of ten. The diversity in the airport is awesome and inspiring! The representation of different ethnicities, skin colors, genders, languages, religions, clothing and accessories, body piercings and tattoos, hair colors and styles, and ages is exciting. When we observe travelers in an airport, no one can argue with Ephesians 2:10 which says, “For we are God’s masterpiece.” 

For an hour and a half, I sit with a slim pink pen in my hand behind a table that has my book displayed, with multiple copies available for purchase. I have postcards about the incredible documentary produced by I AM ALS called For Love and Life: No Ordinary Campaign, a framed sign to let people know book proceeds are being donated to ALS research, a huge foamboard poster on an easel that has my book cover and my photo plastered across it, usually a bowl of chocolate meant to entice, or more recently a bowl of blue and white ribbons for ALS Awareness month. And I sit, wait and smile, and essentially observe and evaluate Every. Single. Person. that walks by my table. I hypothesize in my head about who they are and where they might be traveling; I judge everyone who is lacking sensible footwear; I giggle as parents try to corral their young children, feel compassion for some, and think about how I might have parented those children differently for others; remind myself to stay seated and focused on my task when anyone walks by with a dog; and I play a guessing game as to who might engage with me, approach my table, and want to read my book. 

And the joy I feel when people smile back and react in any way to my table, or poster, or me is the best feeling ever. I love the people who walk by and read the title Scratch My Itch out loud as they pass by and then laugh! I am so happy they find it funny! There is another group of people who walk by, read the title out loud and laugh, but then spend a few extra seconds reading the subtitle. For those people, like clockwork, their laugh is followed by “Oh, ALS”, and the smile disappears. There are the individuals who cheerfully offer me a “Good luck!” or “Congratulations!” as they pass, or the people who stop to proudly tell me about the book their friend recently published, as if all the authors in the world must know one another. I am fascinated by the travelers who walk in conversation, speaking a language other than English, but when they pass, they switch from their native tongue and say “Scratch My Itch” in English as they talk about the lady selling a book. I am highly amused by the people who speed past and avert my gaze entirely, or by the woman who walks by in one direction and then back again, repeatedly changing direction, and every time she passes the table, she gets just a little closer, lingering until she musters enough courage to come over and talk with me. I see you brave one! I thoroughly enjoyed the man who was trying to translate “Scratch My Itch” to his wife who did not speak English and finally scratched her back to help her understand! And to the man of whom I asked if he needed a book for his flight who told me “I don’t read, I only listen to music”, I boldly agreed that music is awesome but recommended he should read a book occasionally. 

Both evaluating travelers who may be potential readers and casually interacting with people is entertaining, but it is the handful of gentle conversations I have with people during that one and a half hours that make the time at the airport special and worthwhile. I spoke with and sold one book to a couple who had each cared for the other at different times- the wife cared for her husband when he had cancer, and the husband then cared for his wife when she had cancer. We briefly acknowledged our shared understanding of the joys and burdens of caregiving. I was so humbled when they purchased my book, knowing they could easily have written their own.  I loved talking with a man named Jeremy who purchased my book because he has so many friends who are caregivers for their family members, and as he walked away from my table, I made a wish that as a nation we paid more attention to just how many people are in the caregiver role and how many more resources are needed to support that caregiving. I loved talking with two ladies who were visiting from the United Kingdom who had never heard of ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. After my 30-second ALS primer, they walked away with just a little more knowledge and I was reminded about how many people have still never heard of this disease or don’t know that it is always fatal. I loved talking with and giving a blue and white ribbon to a woman whose grandmother died from ALS, and talking with a man whose colleague was just diagnosed with ALS, one year before his retirement. My eyes filled with tears, twice. A woman named Barbara purchased my book hoping it helps her as she recovers from caring for her mother who had dementia. She said she has yet to tend to that open wound, and my heart broke knowing it was going to take longer and involve more than just reading a book, but I was also grateful she was going to start that healing process with Scratch My Itch. And I loved making friends with a group of seventh graders from Seattle who were visiting the nation’s capital. They were decked out in colorful DC t-shirts, hats, and souvenirs, and I felt bad telling them what ALS was when they asked because the disease with three letters is the farthest thing away from field trip fun! All in an hour and a half.

I am a self-proclaimed writing nerd and believe nothing is more fun than writing and storytelling. But I have been surprised at just how much I have also enjoyed promoting my book, because connecting with other people and hearing their stories is even more satisfying than sharing my own! I am also very grateful for the many individuals who have purchased my book and are helping find a cure for ALS, one book at a time. I receive my first royalty check this month and I can’t wait to turn those proceeds over to ALS advocacy organizations. I hope the title Scratch My Itch continues to get attention and it makes people smile and laugh. I also hope people read the book and come away better understanding the tragedy that is ALS and the challenges of caregiving, and pray that when people read my story, they are inspired to share theirs! And I hope I have more opportunities for book-fueled people watching because every person at the airport, brewery, senior living community, or bookstore has their own unique, inspiring, entertaining, and amazing story to tell. I will also continue praying for the guy who only ever listens to music — I really hope that one day he decides to crack open a book!