How does a curling enthusiast contribute to the healing of a community after a traumatic event? David Florig, author of “The Stones of Ailsa Craig,” remembers driving his car on a late November day wondering how he could help Lewiston, grieving in the aftermath of Maine’s worst mass shooting. He turned inward, reflecting on his identities. As an author, he is a member of the Maine Writers Club. Through the Maine Authors for Lewiston program, he organized 85 authors, divided across ten separate events, to sell their books and to donate a portion of the proceeds to those impacted by the Oct. 25 mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine.
He says that so far, the authors have collectively raised just over $6,000, which can be used for various forms of aid, such as a first counseling session for a child who lost a parent or a holiday present for a child who lost their family’s primary wage earner.
One of the presenting authors, Mimi Gough, said, “As a teacher in Lewiston, I felt particularly connected.” Gouch says that her book, “From Fledgling to Flyer,” which serves as a biography on her late father’s experiences in World War II, connects to the situation in Lewiston by displaying the ability to overcome trauma and heal in challenging times.
Ed Judd, a music teacher for over forty years and author of “View from the Iron Podium,” recounted an experience he had while teaching at a predominantly Polish Catholic school in Connecticut. As a new teacher, he quickly realized that due to social movements in Poland in the 1980s, many of the children had not seen their families in many years. To combat this, he added Polish carols to their Christmas Concert which, when performed, elicited something that Judd admits “I have never seen before and I will most likely never see again.” Moved, many in of the audience stood up and cheered with great energy while others cried in their seats. The power of the arts in healing grieving communities is evident in Ed Judd’s book.
Authors like David Florig, Mimi Gough and Ed Judd told stories of adversity and altruism. Their stories touch at the root of what remains to be seen as a community healing process in which Lewiston residents and those around the world, saddened and moved by the shooting, tell stories of healing.
