WAR WIDOW’S TRIUMPH
Raising funds to travel nearly 8000 miles to record Rashidah's story before she dies, and turn it into a novel.
I’m Stuart Land, a published novelist and screenwriter with six novels on Amazon and other sites. I write in multiple genres and often combine them: paranormal, thriller, sci-fi, romance, comedy, action adventure, and drama. I’ve been writing for over twenty five years, but started as a sculptor, including fifteen years in the movie business. Much of my work and biography can be seen on my websites below.
My request for support involves a dear friend named Rashidah who, aged ninety one and in ill health, has limited time to tell her inspiring story. I’ve known Rashidah for almost twenty years, but only now, in her waning days, has she found the courage to relate her heart-rending experiences. And she’s agreed to tell them to me. However, I live in Thailand, almost eight thousand miles away, on the opposite side of the world. My request for funds, $5,240, will cover the necessary airfare, housing, car rental, food, and miscellaneous paperwork for the one month I will need to record her story as I sit at her bedside.
What makes her story so important is its relevance to modern society. Rashidah, born in Puerto Rico in 1920, was raised as a Muslim by a domineering father and passive mother. During her adolescents, she was uprooted when the family moved to New York City in the early 1930’s. By her late teens, Rashidah was in a bi-racial relationship. The state wouldn’t grant them a marriage license until after her children were born and her husband joined the Army Air Corps in 1942. The focus of my story is how this Muslim girl from a small Christian island managed to surmount every obstacle to raise her three children in a strange and hostile city during the darkest hours of World War Two. This was a time when almost all the men had gone to war, leaving the women to fend for themselves. Besides the hardship of raising children alone, and was also the target of racism, sexism, gang attacks, loan sharks, robbery, sexual assaults, and more. Compounding these challenges, her husband was shot down and lost over Germany. But, it wasn’t until the war ended, that Rashidah faced the most heart-rending experience of all.
This is a story, not only of survival, but of triumph. It is also a World War Two story that’s never been told: what happened to the women remaining on the home front who weren’t lucky enough to get “Rosie the Riveter” jobs.
Interviewing people about their lives is not as simple as talking, listening, and taking notes. It’s more like an ongoing session with a psychologist. It will take trust, compassion and finesse to tease the details out of forgotten or hidden corners. It can only be done face to face, especially because Rashidah is a stranger to modern technology. Her world is all but lost to us, and that’s why it’s imperative to save as much of it as possible. Rashidah’s short term memory is failing, but her long term memory is sharp and perfectly intact.
Creative non-fiction books and screenplays based on true stories sell faster than fiction in today's marketplace. The book I will write from her recollections will not be a memoir, but rather a living narrative constructed like a novel. Rashidah’s story needs no embellishment, but in order to create an entertaining read, I will fashion scenes that live, as Rashidah lived, with all the truth and poignancy of that era. After one month spent recording her story, the first draft will take approximately three months to write. I will put that draft away for a month and then return to it with a fresh perspective. The second draft will take another month. Then it goes for editing and proof reading. The book will be ready for publication within six months from the start of my journey to see Rashidah.
Because of Rashidah’s advanced age and her ill health, time is of the essence. Every day counts. And so does every dollar. A Google search of costs in the San Francisco area will confirm that I’ve only quoted the bare minimum.
If enough money is not pledged to cover the journey, I will do one of three things based on feedback from the contributors: add the funds to my next campaign, which I would start immediately; donate all the money to orphans in my home city of Chiang Mai, Thailand; or give it all to a charity of contributors’ choice. I won’t use it for any other purpose.
Updates
I will make updates to this site at least once a week while I’m away. Once back I will update twice a month. Anyone, at anytime, may email me directly for information or just to check in.
Why don’t I pay for this myself?
In Dec of 2010, I had open heart surgery to replace two valves due to a congenital heart defect. The fact that I was in such good health, other than my heart condition, saved my life. The cost of this surgery and the long recovery time wiped out my savings and put me in the unenviable position of relying on others to help pay my bills. Over the last year, while recuperating, I still managed to publish six books. Income from these helped repay most of the money borrowed from selfless friends and strangers. I am still paying off the remnants of the medical bill.
Rashidah’s story is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me as a writer, and for her as a subject, because of time constraints. The money collected from this endeavor will NOT be used to pay for my time, to pay my rent or daily living expenses. The funds will only be used to cover actual expenses incurred for the trip from Thailand, where I live, to San Francisco, and back. I include food in the budget because the cost of living in the US is about five times higher than in Thailand.
I cover all book manufacturing costs because I do all the work myself. This includes writing, formatting for print and ebooks, cover design, and artwork.
The costs break down like this:
Round trip flight from Thailand to San Francisco: Approximately $1700
Car rental and gas for one month: $600 plus $100
Rent - short-term house stay or inexpensive hotel: $1500
Food for one month: $800 (That’s $26 per day for three meals. About $9 per meal.)
Misc. - Photos, copies, Internet, phone: $200
IndieGoGo fees: $340
Total: $5,240
My Web sites:
All-inclusive art site: www.studioSL.com
Writing site: www.stuartland.com
Blog: www.stuartland.com/blog
Facebook friend page: www.facebook.com/stuartland.writer/
Facebook fan page: tinyurl.com/Stuart-Land/
LinkIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stuartland/
Twitter: twitter.com/StuartLand_wrtr/
Goodreads author site: www.goodreads.com/author/show/119401.Stuart_Land
AboutMe: about.me/stuartland/
Thank you for your help in this worthwhile endeavor.
Warm regards,
Stuart Land