We all know the story of the Pilgrims and how the Mayflower brought over a persecuted religious group of people to New England, but what else is there to know about the beginning of the New World? Well, in Dr. Joseph Kelly’s new book, Marooned, he tells the stories of the founding of America from a whole new perspective… from the tales of shipwrecks.
The book launch happened on Tuesday, October 30th and Blue Bicycle Books was filled to the shelves with faculty and students who had come in support of Kelly. It is the only social event in an author’s career where the novel can be discussed with readers. And discuss they did. The packed space was a cacophony of chatter until Kelly read a few passages.
From those passages, Kelly asked, what is it about shipwrecks and marooning that make each generation want to tell stories about them like, Castaway or Robinson Caruso? The title, Marooned, as Kelly explained it, means the escape of slaves into the wilderness. His book goes into that definition, but you’ll have to purchase the book for those stories. But the question is curious.
Especially in college, us students are beginning to experience the symptoms of the “what’s next” disease. Where do we go? What lies ahead in our future? Soon most of us will not have the structure of parents or schooling to tell us what to do. In response, Kelly answered his own question.
Each generation wants to retell these stories, because each generation is essentially cast out and marooned into adulthood, where they must band together to create society. By writing a book about the history of shipwrecks, castaways, and marooning, Kelly hopes to teach his readers about the importance of self-discovery and perseverance