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Farewell’s are a time for sadness. And a time to savor sweet memories.

I will miss his big smile. I will miss his big heart, his hope and his optimism. I will miss his eloquence, in words and deeds. I will miss the inspiration I felt from him.  I will miss the feeling of pride I felt, knowing that such a man represents us on the world stage. Knowing that children (of all ages, genders, races, religions, orientations), all over the world, could follow in his footsteps, and they would be better, the world would be better, for it. I will miss his intelligence and his compassion. He brought out the best in me.

At its best, memoir is a search for the soul.  Find that illusive soul, that is what I was trying to do when I wrote King of Doubt.  We all follow that journey, consciously or unconsciously, whether we write a memoir or not. Countries follow that same quest.  Barack Obama brought us closer than we’ve ever been. The search for the holy grail – whether for one person or for a huge, great nation – continues on, and it is never a straight line.

We are going to try a different approach now. If we keep searching, with an open heart and a quiet mind, we’ll learn and grow and lose our way and find our way. Hopefully, we will not do any irreparable damage in the process. Stay true to the quest.

I will miss that man.