Background
One Long Summer was written for JJ by his Big Brothers Big Sisters mentor. The mentor was diagnosed with a terminal illness and wished to leave something for JJ. The book is a memento of their time together and covers some experiences they might have shared in the coming years.
One of the goals of the book is to provide a shared narrative for adults and youth to explore the challenges many young adults may face, as well as an opportunity to laugh together and explore their own relationship.
The Idea
The original idea for One Long Summer came to Sean Thomas in the mid 2000s as a both a fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters and as a resource for adults to read with youth. The hope was to provide a shared narrative that could be used to explore issues that a young person might be experiencing.
Sean was diagnosed with terminal cancer late in 2019 and during 2020 was looking for things to do with JJ, his current match with Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the book was revived!
In the first instance the book was written for JJ, but as the year progressed it became believable that the book may actually get finished!
Treatment for Sean’s cancer was terminated in December 2020 and currently the race is on to publish and promote the book while Sean is alive.
For more information about Sean click here to visit his personal website.
.
