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Books by Eric Douglas

Thriller fiction and Non-fiction

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New book on changes in Russia

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Last week I announced I would be releasing a new book including essays and photographs in honor of my first visit to Russia in 1993. The book is now available through Amazon as a Kindle ebook, but with a slightly different name than I used in my initial announcement. There are several books already in print called Russia: Then and Now. None of them are recent books, mostly detailing Russia as it transitioned from the Czars to the Communists or the change that happened when the Soviet Union broke apart in the 1991. Still, I thought it best to change the name of this book.

So, my new book Russia: The New Age is now available. It is about the Russian people that I met over a 20 year period from 1993 to present day. They have gone through one of the most turbulent periods in Russian history. For more than 70 years, they were repressed and lied to by their government. When the Soviet Union was no more, they had to reinvent everything. Religion had been repressed, technology was way behind. They even had to rely heavily on Germany and other European nations for kitchen appliances and other conveniences. Relying on Germany really didn’t sit well with a lot of Russians, the memories of WWII still fresh in their minds.
The breakup of the Soviet Union was as much a mental ordeal for the Russian people as anything else and they struggled with it. Many people wanted stability, even at the expense of freedom. They wanted a firm hand on the government. At one point over those 20 years, they flirted with a return to Communism. The current government isn’t quite what it was before, but it is definitely more directed than a lot of other democracies. The most important thing I learned from my time in Russia, though, is that the Russian people are the country, not the government. Generally, in their very fatalistic way, Russians, take whatever happens to them with a grain of salt and keep moving forward.
The group of educators I accompanied on my first trip to Russia was so struck by the people, the culture and the history of the place, they formed the nonprofit Russia and West Virginia Foundation to continue educational, cultural and business exchanges. To date, more than 400 exchanges have happened, totally on a shoestring budget. That includes all of my trips. So, 50 percent of all royalties from the sale of Russia: The New Age in January will be donated to the foundation. It won’t be a huge amount, but it should be something toward paying back the debt I owe them.
The photograph I used for the cover of the book was taken on my first full day in Russia. It is a statue of Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, the founder of Moscow. He is also called “Yuri the long armed”, because he pulled everyone together. That’s why his arm is stuck out. I took the photograph through a tour bus window. The window was covered with condensation. I quickly wiped it off and took the picture. You can see a blurry section near the base of the statue where the window was still wet. That is the second frame on black and white film…and then the bus pulled away. I always loved that shot, though. It just seemed to sum up Russia in 1993 for me. I always swore that if I ever published a book about Russia, it would be the cover.
If you want to learn something about Russian culture, history and sense of humor, download Russia: The New Age today direct from Amazon.

See a selection of images from the book here.

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Common Valor

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ojedaEvents in the news often make us shake our heads and sometimes literally make us sick to our stomachs. Yesterday was one of those days. The collective shock and horror  in reaction to a madman entering a school and murdering innocent children and their teachers was palpable.

I didn’t hear the news until the middle of the afternoon yesterday. I was interviewing Major Richard “Ritchie” Ojeda for the Voices of War project—my effort to collect the memories and thoughts of West Virginians who served their country in war. We sat down to talk a little after 10 a.m. and didn’t finish until after 1 p.m. That interview has buoyed me up in ways that I can’t describe. I left Ritchie’s home in Holden, Logan County, feeling great. While the news of the day brought me back down to reality, I didn’t crash as far as I might have.

Ritchie is an amazing man, having worked his way up from being a self-described “knucklehead” as a kid, to a sergeant in the army who then returned home to West Virginia to earn a degree and then back to the army where he has risen to the rank of Major (and will mostly likely be promoted again in the near future). He served four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan along with a deployment to Haiti after the earthquake. He’s done it all with exuberance–“Airborne!” is his reply to everything.

While Ritchie deserves every bit of recognition he has (and will) received for his service to the country he loves, what really amazed me was what he has done in Logan. When he saw the poverty and decay in his hometown, he set to work doing what he could to improve the situation. Among other things Ritchie has created Logan Empowerment Action and Development (LEAD) Community Organization to restore community pride.  He’s seen the worst poverty and inhumanity the world has to offer and remains optimistic and motivated to do what he can.

Last night, watching the news from Newtown Connecticut, I saw an interview with Kaitlin Roig, one of the teachers in the school. I choked up when she said she told her students “There are bad guys out there now. We just have to wait for the good guys.” When faced with horror like we saw yesterday, we all want the good guys to come and save us.

We’ve all heard the phrase “uncommon valor” referring to people who go over and above to serve and protect. Faced with evil like we saw in Newtown, it certainly makes me doubt humanity. On the other hand, I think of people like Ritchie or any number of other people I know who do what they can to help each other every day and realize that there really are a lot of “good guys” out there. There are heroes doing their jobs every day; people who simply want things to be better than yesterday.

I’m grief-stricken for the parents and families in Newtown, Connecticut. As a father, I can’t think of anything but my own daughters right now. I’m worried about them and how they’re reacting to the news.  I’ve said many prayers for them (and the people of Connecticut) and will say many more.

I’m relieved to know that there are people like Kaitlin Roig and Ritchie Ojeda in the world though. They aren’t asking for anything in return other than an opportunity to live their lives in peace. Yesterday, we saw the worst in the world. It would be easy to question everything and everyone in that grief.

On the other hand, in comparison, I realize “valor” is more common than I might have previously thought. There are good guys out there. We just have to lift them up.

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Take time to listen

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Tomorrow, when you get home from the Black Friday frenzy and before your favorite team plays football, take some time to listen. It’s really not that hard.

Friday, November 23, 2012 is the National Day of Listening.
“StoryCorps’ National Day of Listening launched in 2008 to encourage people to record an interview with a friend, loved one, or member of their community on the day after Thanksgiving as one of the least expensive but most meaningful gifts we can give one another during the holiday season.”
A friend of mine who works with StoryCorps contacted me about this year’s program because he knew about my Voices of War project. Anyone can record their story this year, and on any topic, but this year StoryCorps has chosen to feature the stories of veterans, active duty military, and their families.
I’ve recorded more than 40 interviews for my documentary, but I’ve obviously just scratched the surface. In West Virginia alone (population 1.8 million-ish) there are more than 200,000 veterans who have served their country. While West Virginia is known for having the highest number of veterans per capita, there are millions more stories out there. Family stories are important to capture, too.
And the coolest part is, you don’t need anything fancy to record your story. You already have the tools you need.
“StoryCorps is partnering with SoundCloud to debut an innovative tool that will collect thousands of stories submitted from all across the country. The Wall of Listening allows people to record a story and upload it with a picture of the interview partners. You can record using your web browser, or using equipment readily available to you, such as an iPhone, a digital recorder, or a laptop.”
You’re probably saying “I don’t know how to interview someone.” StoryCorps gives you questions you can ask to get the conversation started right on the webpage. I’ve literally done thousands of interviews over the years. My best tip is to shut up and listen. Ask a question like “Tell me about the time…” “Or how did it make you feel when…” and then be quiet. And when the person you are interviewing pauses for a minute, resist the temptation to fill that space by saying something. Stay quiet. More often than not, your interview subject will pick right back up and continue the story. I promise.
So, take advantage of this together time and record a story or two. You won’t regret it.

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Say thank you to a Veteran

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Over the last six months, I’ve conducted more than 40 interviews with West Virginia war veterans for my Voices of War project. I’ve talked to men and women who served their country at the most difficult times possible.

One veteran was a waist gunner on a B-25 Bomber over Europe. His plane made an emergency landing, sliding onto the landing field in England without landing gear. He climbed out of the hatch and pulled every other crew member out of the burning plane.
Another veteran was fighting in Vietnam when he was called on to save his fellow men in a boat in the rice paddies. When their propeller got fouled, he climbed over the side, in the dark while taking fire, and cleared the propeller so they could get away.
I spoke to veterans who served in Iraq who spent their time on duty manning 50 caliber machine guns on HummVees, scanning the roads for roadside bombs.
They literally put their lives on the line for their country and their fellow soldiers. Everyone I’ve spoken to was fundamentally changed by the experience.  Every veteran I interviewed said they were proud of their service and would do it again if they could or were called to do so. But every one of them was haunted by the experience as well. All but a few struggled when they came home; many drank too much, others couldn’t sleep. War service brought an end to marriages and careers.
I’m working on a documentary that includes the thoughts and memories of the war veterans that I interviewed. The video below is a sample of the project, featuring music from Jeff Ellis singing his song The Line written while he served in Iraq.
 
 
While I specifically interviewed veterans who served in war zones, all veterans have made the same sacrifice; time away from home and family and constant preparation for a time they hoped would never come. Veterans Day is not just those who served their country in time of war, but those who have been willing to do so. The saying goes that veterans wrote a blank check to their country. If it came to it, they would be willing to pay with their lives.
Today, November 11, is Veterans Day. Take a minute to say thank you to a Veteran.
 
If you want to learn more about the Voices of War project, you can do so at these previous blog posts.

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Starting discussions and asking questions

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Over the years, I’ve been a frequent flyer, logging as many as 60,000 air miles in 12 months. One way I pass the time is thinking about “why” people are traveling. I try to figure out their unique story; what they are thinking about and why they are on the road. Thinking about those individual stories led me to wonder how those people would react if faced with a common problem.

The basis of the short story, Decisions on a Small Plane, was a Jet Blue flight in 2005 where the passengers on board were able to watch news reports about the trouble their own plane was having and how they were going to have to make an emergency landing. Over the years, I’ve heard people question how God can let bad things happen to good people—especially while “bad” people seem to succeed. I never had a good answer for that question myself and considering the number of people I’ve heard ask the question, it seems like a common one. The horrible attacks of 9/11 are a perfect example of the problem. How many people died that day because of hate, but who had personally never done anything wrong? They didn’t deserve to die. I’m sure many of those same people, when they realized they were doomed, spent their last few moments on earth praying. But they died anyway.
That is where Decisions on a Small Plane came from. It started out as a writing experiment to bring together disparate characters with no connection and throw them together in a small space.  Along the way, it became about something much bigger. It became a story about faith.
Generally, my stories are about adventures—both big and small. In many ways, Decisions on a Small Plane is an adventure for me. It feels like I’m going out on a limb, talking about my own thoughts and my own faith. This story became personal as I thought through the answers to my own questions about “why God lets bad things happen to good people.” I learned a few things in the writing.
I’m not an expert on any of this and don’t pretend to be. I talked about this story with the pastor of my church and asked him to review it (twice) before we even thought about putting this story out there. I hope anyone who reads Decisions on a Small Plane will allow it to spark questions in their own mind and that they will ask someone who can help them understand. That was my purpose in writing this story the way I did. I hope it starts conversations and helps people talk. If it does that, it has served its purpose. And that will be fine with me.
Please feel free to share the story with anyone you think might be interested in reading it. If you want to use the story at your own church or in your own group, you are welcome to do that. Just let me know where and what you’re going to do with it and please don’t change it. Other than that, it is free and available for anyone to read and share.
You can find the link at the bottom of the Emmanuel Baptist Church website or in the church blog. Just click on the Decisions on a Small Plane link.

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