“My Stories” by John Howard
John Howard signing a copy of his book, "My Stories."
It’s going on 13 years since John Howard began working on what would become his first published collection of stories. And even he seemed a little surprised to discover there are 93 of them in the book he held in his hand today.
They just come “right out of the old head,” he said when asked about his work. John has been writing since he was a teen; a time in his life that was especially challenging and included three separate stays in a mental health hospital. Now, at 34, he lives in a personal care home and is an active member of Bell’s Oasis House program. He finds the clubhouse environment stimulating and enjoys the opportunity to use the computers to work on more stories, including two he wrote just after his book went to press.
John started using Bell services in 1998 and has been involved with both the vocational and social rehabilitation programs of the mental health department, and particularly mentioned the art center and a previous staffer there when talking about his years with the agency. He seems to feel a kinship with artists, which isn’t surprising considering the results of his own imagination. John’s only brother, Sam, is an artist; he produced the sketch of “Babe Extreme” that looks out from the cover of John’s book.
John Howard and Christina Smith at John's book signing May 16, 2011
Christina Smith, a vocational rehab caseworker at Bell, was on hand for the book signing event and was encouraged by John to talk about the process of his book’s publication. John’s first attempts to find a publisher online ended in disappointment because the entity was a scam (he has since submitted complaints about them which affirm the Better Business Bureau’s “F” rating).
Through Christina’s advocation on John’s behalf the project came through to completion without incident thanks to a local printer. “Nefra was so great to work with,” Smith said. They proved themselves as a wonderful community partner and even offered a discount to help John afford the fifty copies they printed which were funded using a little money he inherited from his late father to whom the book is dedicated.