Why?
A young man hangs himself. He leaves a note apologizing to the rescue workers who, he anticipates, will untie the rope from the rafter.
His parents ask: Why?
A sexual predator picks and defiles his prey. Why? Why did this happen to my child?
A grandmother, who's lived a life of charity, is robbed and viciously beaten in her home. Her children ask: Why?
Lake Saint Louis Police Chief Mike Force and Capt. Chris DiGiuseppi have written a novel, "The Light Bringer." It starts with that haunting question.
"How is this right? How is this fair? How is this just?" DiGiuseppi says.
The book is due in bookstores Friday. And if you don't see it there, please do the first-time novelists a favor and ask for it.
They will be at Donatelli's Bistro on Highway N in Lake Saint Louis at noon Friday to talk about the trials, tribulations and joys of having their book published.
Their publisher, HCI, in Florida, once handled the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books.
Force and DiGiuseppi say the genesis of their novel, three years in the making, is the police officer's struggle to make sense of random cruelty and the question, born of grief, that they're often asked: Why?
"You can't hold a dead baby, trying to do CPR, and not have it affect you," says DiGiuseppi, 43.
Their protagonist, police officer Alan Crane, has the talent of consoling those in grief. But his gift reaches into the world beyond reality.
The first third of the book recounts the deaths of 16 people. To Crane, the deaths at first seem unrelated.
"The final two-thirds is supernatural: good versus evil," says Force, 58, who has been the Lake Saint Louis chief since 1992.
Crane comes to realize his true calling is in helping people beyond the pale of this life. It is only after they die that Crane attempts to lead them on the right path, one that hovers between heaven and hell.
"The path that we take after we leave this earth is determined by what we do while we are on this earth," Force says.
For three years Force and DiGiuseppi have met for lunch to discuss their progress.
Their writing has been collaborative. At times Force would write a scene or chapter and hand it to his partner for changes and suggestions. At times DiGiuseppi would write first and hand off to Force.
For 18 months Linda Langton, a New York literary agent, rigorously edited the manuscript. A friend who is a motivational speaker had suggested Langton.
"We went through endless editing," Force says. "Our agent did a lot of work. She really took the book to the next level." DiGiuseppi calls the editing process "very difficult, and very educational."
In the spring Langton decreed that the manuscript was ready to submit to publishers. She contacted 20 to 30 before HCI said yes.
Force says the publisher seems a good fit. HCI's motto is "changing people's lives one book at a time."
The two officers/authors say they will be happy if their book changes the life of one person.
"If the book helps one person get back on the right path, or maybe helps somebody forgive themselves, we'll be happy," Force says.
The writers say the novel does not promote any particular religious view. Instead, says Force, it should appeal to readers who consider themselves 'spiritual" and wonder what happens after death.
The two authors received an advance of $6,000, of which about $1,000 went to Langton.
The advance money is being funneled into marketing.
"Publishing companies expect you to market your own book," Force says.
Force has created a website, www.thelightbringerbook.com. It includes excerpts and a video.
The actors in the video are Lake Saint Louis officers who volunteered. Part of it was filmed at Our Lady Cemetery on Orf Road in Lake Saint Louis. In the video a girl runs her fingers across a headstone.
The stone in real life marks the grave of a 24-year-old woman who was raped and murdered in her Lake Saint Louis home in 1995. Her killer remains on death row, and Force, to this day, talks to the slain woman's mother, who resides in Florida.
On the book's dedication's page are four names.
One is Mindy, the murder victim. There is also A.J., Joel and Nicholas.
A.J. Is DiGiuseppi's brother, who died of brain cancer at 21.
Joel was 3 months old when he died in Lake Saint Louis.
And Nicholas was 7 when he died in a sledding accident. Also on the sled was his boyhood friend, Mike Force.
Makes you ask the question: Why?
Steve Pokin is a columnist for the Suburban Journals. He can be reached at spokin@yourjournal.com or by phone at 314-821-1110, ext. 704. His column is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PokinAround.
