Meet Author William Paul Young, Penned “The Shack”

Oregon author William Paul Young will speak in Mamaroneck on Wednesday, Nov. 10, at 7:30 p.m. at Molly Spillane's.

The subject is his book "The Shack," a controversial look at religion that has sold more than 15 million copies and been translated into 40 languages.

A story of healing, and recovery from trauma, runs in partnership with the religious theme.  It debuted on The New York Times trade paperback fiction best-seller list on June 8, 2008, and remained there for 70 weeks.

In the book, a father grieves the abduction/murder of his little girl, and encounters the unlikely forms of God as an African-American woman named "Papa," Jesus Christ in the form of an affable, modern-day Jewish carpenter, and the Holy Spirit in the form of an Asian, fairy-like sylph. The page-turner reads like a group-therapy session on What Is God and How To Work Through Emotional Pain.

"The Shack" has been decried by conservative Christian religious leaders for its persuasion that organized religion, and an angry God, is not the way to experience God, or what God is about.  On the other end of the spectrum, many religious leaders recommend it.

Speaking by phone from Oregon City, OR, last Friday, Young said, "The book has given people a language to have conversations about God that is not a religion conversation. It doesn't matter what kind of faith or no-faith background they have."

Indeed, the talk is sponsored by the Westchester Community Group, newly formed by Larchmont couple Christi and Robert Gebhart. In the email they mailed Patch, they wrote that their organization "was formed to help families sort through issues of faith, family and work by creating opportunities to build community and forums to explore life answers we all seek," and is a fan of the book.

Story within a story

The book is a publishing phenom. Its's runaway success was anything but at first.

"We sent the book to 26 editors, and 26 editors turned it down." Young, who had written privately all his life for his family and friends, was urged by wife Kim to write a book for their six children (who today range in age from 17 to 30; Young has four grandchildren).

Young was working three jobs at the time, in technology and moonlighting as a janitor, and in 2005 did not have the money to photocopy the books as Christmas presents until after the holiday.  "2004 was a financial catastrophe," he recounts. "We lost the house, the car, everything, and were living month to month. It was a tough time, though a good time. But a lot of people know what that's like."

Friends requested more copies, often 10 at a time.

The book's publisher, Windblown Media, was formed to publish the book by two men Young knew. In 2007, the three pooled their money to print 11,000 copies, and had a word-of-mouth explosion.

There is effort to turn "The Shack" into a movie.

Healing

Young has said that the shack represents "a place we keep all of our pain, sorrow, abuse, and disappointments." He is frank about abuse he experienced as a child, and about an affair that threw his marriage into turmoil. "It was 11 years of recovery and healing," he said. "I never thought Kim and I would heal, but we did."

"The Great Sadness" is the weight of depression. One of the protagonist's discoveries is that God has always been with everyone, even when they feel forsaken. "It's about the whole transformational process in every life," said Young.

Young has received 110,000 emails "from people all over the world, telling me their stories, to let me know how the book intersected their lives at some point, and effected transformational change."

This year, Young has given 60 talks around the globe, including Switzerland and South Korea.

This is his first trip to Westchester. "If I remember, Mamaroneck has quite a reputation as far as writers that goes back a long way, including. He wrote in a very visual style, much like the way I write," said Young.  "I'm looking forward to my visit."

Tickets are $12 through theshackbook.eventbrite.com, and at Molly Spillane's.  For more information: reservations@wcgny.org.

Molly Spillane's, 211 Mamaroneck Ave., Mamaroneck, NY; ( 914) 899-3130. www.mollyspillanespub.com.

Books, $14.99, can be purchased at The Voracious Reader Book Store in advance or at the event. The Voracious Reader, 1997 Palmer Ave., Larchmont, NY; (914) 630-4581; Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. www. thevoraciousreader. com.

Editor's Note: The Westchester Community Group was incorrectly identified in the original version of this article. Patch regrets the error.