Jul 19, 20211 min read

WORDS CAN'T EXPRESS

Yesterday I gifted my parents a copy of my new book, ONE LIFE TO GIVE: Martyrdom and the making of the American Revolution. In this book I consider a brand of rhetoric that characterized the revolutionary struggle ("Give me liberty or give me death," "I regret that I have but one life to give for my country," etc.) and trace this rhetoric to the deeply rooted tradition of English Protestant martyrdom.

My mother, D.Ann, a schoolteacher, taught me to read and write before I went to school. Her memory is beginning to fade, something that causes her great concern. My father, Darrell, a university professor, volunteered himself as a research assistant on my first book. He suffered a major stroke ten years ago, and suffers from aphasia, a condition that renders him unable to find the right word at the right time, an enormous frustration.

As I gifted them each a copy of the book I got to share with them the dedication page. Words cannot express how grateful I am to them.