Once upon a time, there was a man who sought a way to reach others with words. In his quest to touch people’s lives for his Master, he set out in pursuit of the words his subscribers would find so inviting to read that, until they finished, they would be unaware they had learned something of great value. Forlorn, the editor could find precious few who would spin the creative verbal webs he sought.

Then one day, an enchanting parable came to him via the great expanse we have come to call cyberspace. And lo, many were touched, as was the man himself. Then came another, and another, and soon the editor’s daily postings were graced with the charming allegories he had been seeking for lo these
many years.

From the first day Lisa Suhay sent me her story “The Diamond of Hope” for Daily Wisdom, I knew that I would soon see her name in print. Now, only about a year later, the volume you hold is proof that her imaginative tales carry the universal charm that was evident from her first sentence, as well as the lifelong treasures that can somehow be conveyed well only through a great story.

Lisa once told me she hoped perhaps to see her works published in children’s literature. I thought it a little sad that we (alleged) adults would thereby be deprived of the fine verbal journeys she so consistently weaves. The themes presented between these covers are far from limited to children, yet they have a way of transporting one back to a childlike innocence while driving home grownup lessons with style. Read them to your children and grandchildren, by all means, but read them for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.

From the quixotic endeavors of a benevolent dophin, to the change of heart of a greedy magpie, to the neighborly support of a twisted tree, your own excursions through these pages can help you keep alive the truths that kindness still begets kindness, that helping another with a problem can diminish our own, and that whoever truly wants to, will see the crane’s home in the sky.

Jesus himself knew that his hearers could best absorb his teachings as parables. He knows that, given the choice between plot and pontification, we will often hearken to the entertaining story over the sermonized soliloquy. So as you read, enjoy, and learn from the creative fables beyond this page, prepare to be thoroughly entertained as you find lessons of wit, contemplation, and perhaps, Lord willing, eternal value.

Warren Kramer
Editor, Daily Wisdom Online Devotional
Muskegon, Michigan

Download Tell Me A Story by Lisa Suhay

PDF format, 6.5MB, 114Pages.

Cover Design: Jim Manis; original cover design: Michele Wetherbee; illustration: © 1999 Kathleen Edwards
Copyright © 2000 The Pennsylvania State University

Preface:

How does a writer go from newspapers and the harsh realities of life to the creation of gentle parables and fables for the modern world? It often makes me wonder myself, but the truth is that one day I decided to relinquish my iron grip on reality and listen to what the world had to say for itself.

I was angry, worried and sad in many ways. The mother of two young boys, ages five and four with a third on the way, I was constantly finding ways to explain life’s difficulties to my children. I would take their real life problems and assign the people involved an animal character.

Then I would weave a tale of how the problem was solved. One night, while I sat brooding over a problem of my own, I said a little prayer and asked for a solution. What I really asked for was a way to let go of my anger or hurt or whatever the fear of the day was.

Because I think better with a keyboard at my fingertips I sat down at the computer and tried to clear away my feelings and approach the problem through the eyes of a frog, a dog or bird, as I did for the boys. The result is contained in the pages of this book.

I would love to take credit for the result, but in truth I don’t think I am really clever enough or compassionate enough to have come up with all these answers on my own.

Call it the Spirit or some universal energy that worked its way through my fingers and onto the printed page, but the result surprised me. As they say, I didn’t know I had it in me.

The real truth is that I think “it” is in all of us. All we have to do is look at ourselves through the eyes of a frog to leap for joy, a bird to soar, or a cricket to sing the music that is written on our souls.

Lisa Suhay

About Lisa Suhay:

Lisa Suhay is a journalist and children's book author.

Journalism

    * 1991 - Suhay functioned as a foreign correspondent on a freelance basis during Operation Desert Storm reporting from Saudi Arabia and Tel Aviv.
    * 1996 - became Bureau Chief of the Marco Island Eagle located in Marco Island, Florida.
    * 1999 - became a contract writer for the New York Times.

Writings

    * Tell Me a Story andTell Me Another Story (Paraclete Press, Brewster, Mass 2000 and 2001) according to Christian Fiction: A Guide to the Genre By John Mort. 
    * Dream Catchers with Pippi Longstocking Illustrator Louis S. Glanzman (Marsh Media, St. Louis, MO. 2001)
    * Haddy the Doorstopasaurus (Franklin Mason Press, Trenton, NJ 2003)
    * There Goes a Mermaid! A NorFolktale (The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Virginia 2003)
    * Our Fantasy Island (Fantasy Island Amusement Park, NJ 2005)
    * The Mermaids and Yellow Jack, A NorFolktale (Bon Secours Foundation 2006)
    * Audio Tape: Tell Me a Story: A Dialogue with Deepak Chopra. (Harmony House 1998)

Other activities

    * 2005 - Suhay worked with the city of Norfolk, Virginia (where the mermaid is the city symbol) and the American Heart Association to create the Heart & Art Mermaid Trails.

Comments (1)

Name

Email

Comment

smaller | bigger

Add Comment