Overview

Growing up in the mill slums surrounding Pittsburgh, all that 16-year-old Daniel Robinson ever wanted was a family who loved him. Instead, he was ignored by a mother who hid in her room praying to an unseen God, and a drunk for a father who used everyone as a punching bag. After yet another beating, he runs to the only man he trusts-his pastor. He welcomes Daniel-then assaults him. Devastated, and frightened out of his mind, he runs away again, spending the next ten years wandering the country throughout the turbulent 1960's, desperate to forget the bedlam he called home. While traveling he gets caught up in the hippie drug invasion in San Francisco, racial violence in Cleveland and Detroit, and especially a deadly anti-war protest at Kent State. Disillusioned, and nearly killed several times on his journey, Daniel loses hope he will ever be happy-until he meets Kate Fitzgerald, who was running from her own demons. Together they get a second chance at love and the family they both want. Daniel is now determined his new family will be different than the abusive home he came from, but can he ever run far enough to leave behind his haunted past? Because of his experiences with street people, he is offered a job helping men coming from prison. When asked to find housing for Charles Vickers, a black man who spent twenty years in prison for a rape Daniel is convinced he never committed, he and Kate open their own home to him. This enrages the community, especially when a local girl disappears. Violence erupts-with Daniel as the focus of their rage. Should he stay and fight for Charles-and put his family at risk, or run away again? Daniel's story, with its harrowing social themes, conveyed through an intense personal odyssey, bridges the gap between literary and commercial fiction. It would be enjoyed by readers who were moved by the heartbreaking, yet hopeful narratives of Forrest Gump and Where the Crawdads Sing. RUNNING AS FAST AS I CAN vividly portrays a traumatic period in our history, while grappling with intense emotional and social issues we still face today. It is an epic journey for love and forgiveness. Most important, it is a page-turner story that readers will identify with because it is, on some level, everyone's story.

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Reviews

"""Running As Fast As I Can is a genuine page-turner. A good writer makes you either laugh or cry. John David Graham did both. Daniel's story had me struggling at times to read through my tears. Graham is a truly great author, in my view, because long after putting the book aside, the characters still live with you. Graham takes you into their world to walk in their shoes, to feel what they feel, to think what they think, and to know what they know. You learn with them. You love with them. You cry with them. And in the end, you draw on the experiences you share with them to shape your view of the world. This book shines a light in dark corners. The author does not hold back in his judgment of human behavior and a society shaped by prejudices. But he reminds us that life is written in pencil so that we can erase a mistake and start over. As we join Daniel on his journey, I suspect most of us will reflect on the times we needed to erase a chapter and rewrite it. We ponder the race we are running; our own search for love, for a place to belong in the world, and for a way to light the path for those who struggle in a dark place. Running As Fast As I Can is told with deep compassion and understanding. It's a story of love and forgiveness. Intensely emotional, it is also timely and relevant, highlighting social issues our society still struggles with today. It is, in my opinion, truly a masterpiece."" - Readers' Favorite 5 Star Review"

Author Information

JOHN DAVID GRAHAM is the founder and executive director of Good Samaritan Home, a non-profit social service agency in Ohio, offering ex-offenders reentry housing and mentoring support. He is the author of an academic book, Citizen Circle: A Mentoring Model for Rehabilitating Ex-offenders in Darke County, Ohio, that documents the positive impact that mentoring ex-offenders has on the community.Prior to that he was a door-to-door salesman, a children's home counselor, substitute school teacher, truck driver, fireman, building contractor, minister and a journalist. Sometimes the road home takes many twists and turns.That long and winding road is the best preparation for writing. John's philosophy is the best writing occurs after a life has actually been lived-when we have had time to develop calloused hands and a tender heart.His current novel, although fiction, is the very real story of too many of us who struggle to overcome generations of poverty, neglect or abuse that have left us totally incapable of the life, and love, we desperately want. It is everyone's story because we all deserve a second chance.

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