Walla Walla Author Called to DC

The Federal government invited local author Joe Cooke to Washington DC to serve on a team that recommends which of several counties across the country will be able to receive special Federal grants for children's services.

These $6.5 million Children's Mental Health Initiative (CMHI) grants are awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The money is used by local governments to re-evaluate and re-design systems of care for high-risk children and their families.

Cooke first became involved in the system of care movement in 1999 when he was hired by Clark County, Washington as the financial manager for the community services oversight agency. Part of the $30 million departmental budget was a CMHI grant, and a large portion of his time was spent helping to develop a comprehensive system of care for the county.

It was while working on the system of care that Cooke was introduced to the concept of individual giftedness that is now a central theme in all his work, especially his latest novel, Elysen.

"Everyone brings a unique gift to this world," Cooke says. "When the gift is recognized, we call it genius. But when we ignore it, it often leaks out as our shadow side. Many of the most troubled kids today are really fabulously gifted, but their gift has been denied, maybe even ridiculed. Those wounds are hard to overcome and show up as behavioral problems."

Cooke says his work with gifted but troubled kids led him on a quest to find his own gift, and that led him to writing - a talent he's always had, but one that he had turned away from in favor of a more secure but less rewarding career in finance and law.

"It got to the point where I had to ask the same question of myself that we were asking these kids - what is my gift? The answer I kept getting was that I was supposed to be a writer. That's the dream that has haunted me all my life."

His novel, Elysen, is the story of a warrior, struggling to survive in a harsh world. Through her struggles, she finds her own inner power, but that power raises more questions than answers, and leads her to face the ultimate choice: whether to fulfill her destiny as the savior of the world, or to save the one person she truly loves.

When asked how his work with troubled kids brought about Elysen, he points out that the genesis of her story was the same question we all ask: why am I here?

"Elysen is a warrior, raised in a world without love or compassion or faith," Cooke explains. "But there is something inside her yearning to be expressed. Something that the rest of her world just doesn't understand. She is exiled and outcast, taken prisoner and tortured, and yet all of her trials just make her spirit stronger. Once she faces that truth, she can break free from the pain of her past. It gives her a great power and a great sense of who she is in a world that shuns her."

Despite the fact that the story is intense, or maybe because of it, initial sales of Elysen have been brisk. Many people finished the book and then read it again, right away. Jayne DiDario came back and bought five more copies to give to friends.

"I had to read it again," says DiDario. "There are a lot of layers. It really is fascinating and really well written."

Cooke is looking forward to his trip to the Capital, even though it means taking a break from his real estate business and from work on the sequel to Elysen.

"I was a troubled kid myself. For me, getting to go back to DC again to help evaluate this year's grant applications is a chance to give back - a chance to help more people find their way through the darkness."
Joe Cooke will be at the Walla Walla Hastings on July 9th from 10am to 2pm, signing his book and answering questions on creativity, writing and personal giftedness. Elysen is also available locally at Book and Game and Earthlight Books, and nationally via www.amazon.com. Cooke can be reached via his web site www.elysen.com.