| Welcome to our guest author Ann Fritz Hackett |
| PVN Interview with Ann Fritz Hackett, business woman,modern philosopher and author of Where the White Oak Speaks |
| Copyright 2009 |
PVN asks: Ms. Hackett, we love this book! What prompted you to write a
book like this?
Ms. Hackett: Writing this book was a great surprise to me. I was a
math major in college and my career has been in business. When the
idea for the book first came, I did my best to ignore it. My mind did its
best to discourage me – to stop me. However, the idea resonated so
deeply in my heart that I knew I had to try .To do that, I had to learn
to listen to and write from my heart, not my mind. I made a deal with
my mind and told it to suspend its judgment while I wrote three
one-paragraph beginnings. When I started the first one, I immediately
saw the beginning and the ending of the story. That became Where the White Oak Speaks. I did
not set out to write a book for the world. I set out to fulfill my heart’s desire. I had no intention of
publishing it. Eventually I shared it with my family and friends. Their enthusiastic responses and
encouragement helped me to have the courage to bring the book to the larger world.
Question: With what is going on in the world, do you think your book may be more important
than ever?
Ms. Hackett: Many people have said that. I think there has always been an important place for
stories that touch our hearts, inspire us to believe more is possible and help us to celebrate the
simple and profound gifts of life that surround us always and that are often visible only to our
hearts. Perhaps now we just appreciate it all the more. And perhaps now we need our internal
compass more than ever.
Our analytical minds are important, but we seem to have forgotten the power and wisdom of our
hearts. Our hearts enable us to discover possibilities that seem impractical to our minds. Our
hearts can see through to the goodness in people and situations even when it is not manifest in the
moment. Our hearts reveal what we have in common while our minds are busy documenting
how different we are from one another. It is important for children at these times to be able to see
the goodness in the world around them and to believe that more is possible. Images bombard their
senses. Perhaps in some small way, Where the White Oak Speaks helps children develop an
awareness of their internal compass and its importance in navigating an increasingly complex and
interconnected world. And for adults perhaps the book will liberate the wisdom of the child within
to be a force in our thoughts, lives and world.
Question: How did writing this book impact you?
Ms. Hackett: The book has been an eight-year journey of joy, wonder, frustration, miracles, self-
doubt and patience. Although my mind came up with lots of good reasons to give up along the
way, I didn’t. It has helped me to realize how often we stop ourselves from reaching our own
dreams and in doing so limit what is possible. We are each unique and can only be who we are.
Success is not about external manifestations. It is about becoming all of who we are. Daring to try
is the first big step. Not stopping ourselves is the last.
Question: What kept you going?
Ms. Hackett: In fact there were many times when I wasn’t sure I would complete the book. Fear
of failing was probably the force within me that came the closest to stopping me. And yet each
time something kept me from giving up. My heart kept me connected to the larger inspiration.
Question: It is interesting that one of the main characters is a boy who is in a wheelchair and
cannot speak or engage with the world around him. How have your readers reacted to this
character, especially children?
Ms. Hackett: Many people have asked how I dreamed up Christopher James and my only
response is that as I was writing the story, he walked onto the pages. My job in creating the book
was to listen well within myself. People have in general been quite taken with Christopher
James. I have received many letters and emails from children and adults alike saying how
important Christopher James is to them as a character. I think the reason people are drawn to
Christopher James may lie in the fact that each of us harbors a thought that some part of us is
“imperfect”. It is somehow reassuring to embrace the idea that even the “imperfect” part of us is
worthy of and capable of love and, with love and understanding, can be liberated. What the mind
thinks of as “imperfect”, the heart sees through to the truth of perfection and wholeness within.
To me that is the symbolism and broad appeal of Christopher James.
Question: How about Mr. Brewster, the elderly gentleman who has a magical way of knowing
things – how have readers reacted to him?
Ms. Hackett: Mr. Brewster is a favorite for many people. I think he is part of the reason that the
book has turned out to have such cross-generational appeal. Here is an elderly man who is not
“old”. He is wise, humorous, vital and relevant in the world. At a time when the elderly in many
parts of our society are not honored but hidden, Mr. Brewster holds out
different possibilities. I have been deeply moved by the letters from
grandparents and parents who have written to tell me how the book
reconnected them with their childhood – that time in their lives when
they knew more was possible – and caused them to reminisce about
the real life “Mr. Brewster’s” who had been important at various stages
of their lives.
Question: One is left with a feeling of perfection about life when you
finish the book that often eludes us in real life. What is your perspective?
Ms. Hackett: I appreciate the question because it drove me to a deeper insight about life, revealed
symbolically in the book. In the story, there actually are important elements that are far from
“perfect”: as the book opens, Jacob’s best friend has just moved away, leaving a large, lonely hole
in his life; Christopher James is hardly “perfect” in conventional terms; and in the end of the book,
Jacob is confronted with profound loss. However, it is also true that one is left with
a feeling of peacefulness; a feeling that all is well. The resolution of these apparently disparate
views may lie in the fact that in the book we see the world through Jacob’s eyes, a child’s eyes.
His journey is laced with potential challenges, obstacles and despair – just like real life. However,
Jacob’s innocence and open heart allow him to discover new possibilities and larger
truths. He brings this perspective to apparent difficulties and in doing so transforms his experience
of the situation into one of perfection. The reader experiences this well; that all is as it needs to be
in every moment. Perhaps the power of children’s literature lies in its ability to remind us of the
true possibilities of life; possibilities that need not evade us as adults in the “real”world. Our
experience may depend more on us than we realize.
book like this?
Ms. Hackett: Writing this book was a great surprise to me. I was a
math major in college and my career has been in business. When the
idea for the book first came, I did my best to ignore it. My mind did its
best to discourage me – to stop me. However, the idea resonated so
deeply in my heart that I knew I had to try .To do that, I had to learn
to listen to and write from my heart, not my mind. I made a deal with
my mind and told it to suspend its judgment while I wrote three
one-paragraph beginnings. When I started the first one, I immediately
saw the beginning and the ending of the story. That became Where the White Oak Speaks. I did
not set out to write a book for the world. I set out to fulfill my heart’s desire. I had no intention of
publishing it. Eventually I shared it with my family and friends. Their enthusiastic responses and
encouragement helped me to have the courage to bring the book to the larger world.
Question: With what is going on in the world, do you think your book may be more important
than ever?
Ms. Hackett: Many people have said that. I think there has always been an important place for
stories that touch our hearts, inspire us to believe more is possible and help us to celebrate the
simple and profound gifts of life that surround us always and that are often visible only to our
hearts. Perhaps now we just appreciate it all the more. And perhaps now we need our internal
compass more than ever.
Our analytical minds are important, but we seem to have forgotten the power and wisdom of our
hearts. Our hearts enable us to discover possibilities that seem impractical to our minds. Our
hearts can see through to the goodness in people and situations even when it is not manifest in the
moment. Our hearts reveal what we have in common while our minds are busy documenting
how different we are from one another. It is important for children at these times to be able to see
the goodness in the world around them and to believe that more is possible. Images bombard their
senses. Perhaps in some small way, Where the White Oak Speaks helps children develop an
awareness of their internal compass and its importance in navigating an increasingly complex and
interconnected world. And for adults perhaps the book will liberate the wisdom of the child within
to be a force in our thoughts, lives and world.
Question: How did writing this book impact you?
Ms. Hackett: The book has been an eight-year journey of joy, wonder, frustration, miracles, self-
doubt and patience. Although my mind came up with lots of good reasons to give up along the
way, I didn’t. It has helped me to realize how often we stop ourselves from reaching our own
dreams and in doing so limit what is possible. We are each unique and can only be who we are.
Success is not about external manifestations. It is about becoming all of who we are. Daring to try
is the first big step. Not stopping ourselves is the last.
Question: What kept you going?
Ms. Hackett: In fact there were many times when I wasn’t sure I would complete the book. Fear
of failing was probably the force within me that came the closest to stopping me. And yet each
time something kept me from giving up. My heart kept me connected to the larger inspiration.
Question: It is interesting that one of the main characters is a boy who is in a wheelchair and
cannot speak or engage with the world around him. How have your readers reacted to this
character, especially children?
Ms. Hackett: Many people have asked how I dreamed up Christopher James and my only
response is that as I was writing the story, he walked onto the pages. My job in creating the book
was to listen well within myself. People have in general been quite taken with Christopher
James. I have received many letters and emails from children and adults alike saying how
important Christopher James is to them as a character. I think the reason people are drawn to
Christopher James may lie in the fact that each of us harbors a thought that some part of us is
“imperfect”. It is somehow reassuring to embrace the idea that even the “imperfect” part of us is
worthy of and capable of love and, with love and understanding, can be liberated. What the mind
thinks of as “imperfect”, the heart sees through to the truth of perfection and wholeness within.
To me that is the symbolism and broad appeal of Christopher James.
Question: How about Mr. Brewster, the elderly gentleman who has a magical way of knowing
things – how have readers reacted to him?
Ms. Hackett: Mr. Brewster is a favorite for many people. I think he is part of the reason that the
book has turned out to have such cross-generational appeal. Here is an elderly man who is not
“old”. He is wise, humorous, vital and relevant in the world. At a time when the elderly in many
parts of our society are not honored but hidden, Mr. Brewster holds out
different possibilities. I have been deeply moved by the letters from
grandparents and parents who have written to tell me how the book
reconnected them with their childhood – that time in their lives when
they knew more was possible – and caused them to reminisce about
the real life “Mr. Brewster’s” who had been important at various stages
of their lives.
Question: One is left with a feeling of perfection about life when you
finish the book that often eludes us in real life. What is your perspective?
Ms. Hackett: I appreciate the question because it drove me to a deeper insight about life, revealed
symbolically in the book. In the story, there actually are important elements that are far from
“perfect”: as the book opens, Jacob’s best friend has just moved away, leaving a large, lonely hole
in his life; Christopher James is hardly “perfect” in conventional terms; and in the end of the book,
Jacob is confronted with profound loss. However, it is also true that one is left with
a feeling of peacefulness; a feeling that all is well. The resolution of these apparently disparate
views may lie in the fact that in the book we see the world through Jacob’s eyes, a child’s eyes.
His journey is laced with potential challenges, obstacles and despair – just like real life. However,
Jacob’s innocence and open heart allow him to discover new possibilities and larger
truths. He brings this perspective to apparent difficulties and in doing so transforms his experience
of the situation into one of perfection. The reader experiences this well; that all is as it needs to be
in every moment. Perhaps the power of children’s literature lies in its ability to remind us of the
true possibilities of life; possibilities that need not evade us as adults in the “real”world. Our
experience may depend more on us than we realize.
| Our Current Positive Pick |
| PVN Interview with Ann Fritz Hackett, business woman, modern philosopher and author of Where the White Oak Speaks |
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