What started out as a casual project to paint the alphabet on canvases for my
son’s room, became a labor of love driven by compassion and a newfound
interest in the realities facing children around the globe. As the project evolved
it changed my world, or at least how I saw it. The realization that I have a
responsibility not just to my family, but to this life that I have been given, has
become my inspiration. The children behind the issues compel me to reach
farther, and to work harder. Innocence sacrificed to the mistakes of humanity
feeds my creativity, empathy guides my brush and conviction encourages me
to put my thoughts to paper. But at the end of the day, it is the hope that I
can make a difference that keeps me company when the brush falters and the
words get lost in the darkness.

The Trouble with the Alphabet utilizes a fundamental starting point for learning
in our society: the alphabet. I have assigned each letter to a country dealing
with profound human rights issues and life threatening circumstances in regard
to children. Through the use of art, poetry, and short essays, this book illustrates
the many challenges that children throughout the world face each and every day.
With that said, it is important to understand that human rights violations, injust-
ices and human suffering occur globally, not just in these countries.

This book is not a revelation of new facts or a handbook for solving global pro-
blems. My hope is that it will serve as a catalyst for inciting interest, thought,
and discussion for those who read it. My belief is that one does not have to be
a world traveler with a frequently stamped passport to be aware and compelled
to take action. Activism is not confined to to being on the ground in one of
these countries. Activism is taking action in some manner, wherever you are
and with whatever resources you are blessed with or limited by.

This is by no means a children’s book in the traditional sense and requires adult
supervision, yet I hope that it will instill visionary ideas and promote compassion
towards humanity in all people, young and old. The Trouble with the Alphabet is
a book intended to shake the complacency out of society and replace it with a
new sense of social responsibility.