Life can change in a really good way in just a few seconds if you have your eyes open for those opportunities, says Jason F. Wright, a former Utah resident and the New York Times best-selling author of "Christmas Jars."
We often think of how life can change in just a few seconds in a negative way. All sorts of little things can change your life permanently in just a few seconds, but Wright says, but we don't often think of the flip side of that.
Wright, who was recently in Salt Lake City for the inaugural KSL/Deseret News Book Festival, is hoping to turn people on to that flip side with his new book "The Seventeen Second Miracle."
Wright's novel follows the story of a boy who witnessed 17 seconds of tragedy. The boy could have easily allowed the incident to fester, but instead chose to live his life doing small acts of kindness, or Seventeen Second Miracles.
As with his other books, Wright's father was an inspiration in creating "The Seventeen Second Miracle." This time, however, the book is lighter. It has a more hopeful promise to it. And it all starts with these little miracles.
For Wright, seeing his father look for opportunities to serve really stuck a chord. "My dad didn't have a term for (the miracles)," Wright said in a phone interview from his office in Woodstock, Va. "But this is very much the kind of life my dad lived. … He just had such a keen sense of the needs of people around him, in little tiny ways like opening a door for somebody at the mall or loaning someone five bucks at lunch or the really big things like having literally saved several lives by risking his own."
This thought of changing someone's day or, in some cases, someone's life based on a small act goes beyond any book, Wright says. "I would love for people to go out and buy the book and to fall in love the story, but you certainly don't have to read the book to perform a Seventeen Second Miracle."
The BYU graduate hopes that the book or even just hearing about the book will awaken a desire in people to do something unplanned for someone else every single day. He doesn't want to make it a requirement. It's not a church assignment or self-promotion, he says. It should be a desire that if done correctly sets off a chain reaction.
"I hope that people are just kind of awakened to that, that kind of natural goodness that here's a need that I can fill it," Wright said. "It takes a few seconds of time, a really small sacrifice that could significantly improve not just the day but perhaps the life of someone else."
And while he doesn't want to make these moments a requirement, Wright will be asking students to pledge to try and do something good when he visits them in Garland and Layton schools this week.
The pledge, "I pledge to perform a Seventeen Second Miracle every day to make a journey easier, a burden lighter or a smile brighter," is just a fun aspect he's adding to his stop, and he promises "no one will fail if they don't do it."
Much like "Christmas Jars" was five or six years ago, Wright hopes "The Seventeen Second Miracle" is the kind of book that people will read and ponder. "I hope it really sticks with them," he said. "That they'll think about it, and it will inspire them to change their behavior just a tiny bit. It could be a jumping off point for millions and millions of Seventeen Second Miracles."
If you go:
Who: Jason Wright
What: Signing
When: Friday, Oct. 1, from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Where: Deseret Book Layton Hills Mall
Web: deseretbook.com/stores/events
Also …
When: Saturday, Oct. 2, noon-2 p.m.
Where: Deseret Book Flagship store, 45 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City
e-mail: jharrison@desnews.com