November 29 is a special day for me because this is the day a quote from my book, THE SLEEPING GIANT: A Tale From Kaua’i appears on a page in TODAY I WILL: A Year of Quotes, Notes and Promises to Myself, by award-winning authors Eileen & Jerry Spinelli, illustrated by Julia Rothman. The book is a wonderful compilation of quotes–366 to be exact–from children’s literature. I actually had the pleasure of meeting the Spinellis, when I dined and chatted with the literary power duo at the 2005 Highlights Foundation Writers Workshop at Chautauqua. I feel honored that they included my quote–it is in excellent company as there are many wonderful quotes from children’s books.
Here’s the page my quote appears along with the Spinelli’s comments.
My quote is as follows:
Her na’au, gut feeling, pressed her to keep walking.
The Spinellis comment:
Your brain isn’t your only source of information. Sometimes it’s your gut, or wherever it is that “gut feelings” reside. Gut feelings don’t “think.” They’re just there, under your skin ready to steer you this way or that when you’ve got a choice to make. They’re not guaranteed to be right, but often they are.
This affirmation by the Spinellis wraps things up:
I may not always follow my gut feeling—my na’au—but I will always, always listen to it.
A little bit of trivia: My Hawaiian name is Hoku’na’au’ao. If you take a closer look at it, you will see that the word “na’au” is part of my name! <3
