My kids hate it when I lecture them. It was the same for me with my dad. It seems that I inherited from him the ability to create a lecture from every potential situation, and my children inherited my disdain for these lectures. So, in the end, it all evens out.

This book was the result of many “despites.”

Despite nobody believing in my ability to write it,

despite everyone telling me that writing an English fiction was an unrealistic aspiration for an immigrant who moved to the US in his late thirties,

despite having a large family that constantly required my attention,

despite the even bigger obligations of running my own business,

despite never having written fiction before,

despite not having the appropriate education,

and despite my close friends never reading more than three pages, despite me swearing that I can take any harsh critique with a brave heart.

Yet, here it is.

So, my natural inclination is to tell my kids – you see, despite all these “despites,” I made it. And so can you, whatever you desire, if you put your mind to it.

And believe me, I tried! Well, not really tried, the lecturing came naturally to me.

But as I mentioned earlier, my kids hate it when I lecture them. So, I hope that instead, they’ll read this post and get the idea. And the lesson, despite.