A Boy, Two Bears, and How a Book Can Change Your World
June is PRIDE Month! Today’s blog post comes to us from Justin Barker, author and animal activist. Justin worked with Author Accelerator CEO and book coach Jennie Nash on his new memoir, Bear Boy: The True Story of a Boy, Two Bears, and the Fight to Be Free, out June 22, 2021.
For 10 years I struggled writing a book I knew had to be in the world.
The story would be about 13-year-old me -- a couch potato with bad teeth and no friends. It would be about how I stumbled upon a book about animal rights that changed my life; how I met Ursula and Brutus, two sibling black bears living in horrifying conditions in a cage near my childhood home; how I found a cause, battled city hall, and fought to give the bears a better life.
I knew the story I wanted to write, because I experienced it firsthand. Somehow though, I just couldn’t translate all of the colorful memories that were in my head into a compelling story on the page. It took me four years to write my first draft which was written from everyone's perspective but my own and ended up in the trash. I wrote it again, inspired by a month-long 50,000-word writing challenge from NaNoWriMo. I felt a sense of accomplishment but also like I was drowning in words that didn’t reflect my storytelling chops. The first sentence of my first chapter read: “This story, like many others, starts in the parking lot of a suburban Wal-Mart.” I actually didn’t really know where it started because I didn’t really know what I was writing about. I knew the facts but not the story.
When Jennie Nash became my book coach (eight years into my writing process), she helped me realize that my story definitely didn’t start in a parking lot.
She guided me through a process to define “my why,” which wasn’t just about how I stood up for Brutus and Ursula, it was also a story about my own freedom. I wanted young readers to walk away inspired to stand up for themselves and for animals. Sometimes I'd be up at four o'clock in the morning, trying to hit a deadline, sobbing to myself, feeling sick to my stomach. Writing forced me to do something I never had done or wanted to do – relive some of the most painful moments in my young life. Bloody hallway brawls, screaming fights with my mom, the echoing taunts of “fag” that I never realized were seared into my subconscious, and all the feelings I had struggling to come out as a queer teen in the suburban ‘90s.
This was heavy stuff. I was so grateful to have a book coach by my side, because I didn't feel alone. I felt supported both creatively and emotionally – something no writing retreat or MFA could ever provide. Jennie was part therapist, part ship captain. She helped me build a container for my story and an itinerary to write it, she guided the direction as I wrote, and nudged me when I was off course. Most importantly she was a shoulder I could cry ( or sob) on. She helped me see that writing a book is much bigger than building paragraphs, it’s about unpacking and delivering emotion, it’s about having a clear mission and using words to propel it. Jennie’s approach and her care ultimately allowed me to bring my best story to life.
Now 10 years later, after many failed starts and half attempts, my book is finally in readers’ hands.
It’s Pride Month, and I am incredibly proud of telling a queer story. I’m proud that I kept going when times were tough, that I kept fighting, and kept writing. A book about animal rights changed my life way back in the day – a book I happened to pull off the shelf of a used bookstore. What a thrill to think that my book is now out there with the chance to make an impact, too. My hope is that I can reach readers who are inspired to take their own actions, to question authority, to build movements, to be proud of who they are and follow their heart to do the right thing, even if it’s unpopular.
Justin Barker is the author of Bear Boy: The True Story of a Boy, Two Bears, and the Fight to Be Free. He loves the Spice Girls and he thinks zoos are the worst. He is a San Francisco-based TV producer, writer, and activist. Justin and his wife, Bridget, are parents to Noah and their rescued pup, Beatrice, and are queer AF. They believe #LoveisLove, #BlackLivesMatter, and thirst for a more just and equitable world. Visit him at bearboy.org.
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