The Shack author to speak in Rosebud

Laureen F. Guenther
Times Contributor

 

How do you explain outside-the-box thinking to your children? Paul Young said he wrote The Shack as a Christmas gift for his six children, because his wife had asked him to write something to help them understand the concept.
He made 15 photocopies of the book, gave them to his children and his friends, and was satisfied the book had accomplished its purpose.
“But my friends started giving it to their friends, who started giving it to their friends,” Young said. “So that started this conversation about making 15 more.”
Young, author of the bestselling book The Shack, will come to Rosebud, Oct. 4, to speak, and then share a meal with guests.
He explained that The Shack is best described as “a suspense-mystery-wrapped-up-in-a-what-if.”
The book poses the big question that in the midst of our true human suffering, what if there was a God who was good all the time? What would that be like? Young said people discovered that The Shack gave people a language to have a conversation about God that wasn’t religious. The book outlines the conversation was relational … and asks really human questions.
A copy of the book got into the hands of someone who suggested making it into a movie – and that led to conversations about formally publishing it. Young and friends submitted The Shack to 26 publishers, but all of them, both faith-based and secular, turned it down. So Young said he and his friends started their own company, set up a website, printed 10,000 copies and spent less than $300 on marketing. In May 2007, they started selling it out of one man’s garage, and in the first 13 months, they sold 1.1 million books.
Multiple millions of copies have now been sold, the book has been translated into 48 languages, and shooting has just finished for a major motion picture.
“It’s very exciting,” Young said, “So surreal to be on the set and watching 50 crew people and cast, working on something that you made 15 copies that did all that you wanted.”
He’s also written two more novels: Crossroads, which focuses on the question of how grace gets into the world of someone who doesn’t want it and Eve, released this month, which asks if men are so obviously more messed up than women, how come they’re in charge. Young predicted that Eve may make even bigger waves than The Shack did.
He said his Oct. 4 talk will center on telling stories, some of his own, and some from people who’ve interacted with The Shack.
“Every human being has a story, so I think we have a natural affinity for story,” Young said.
He’ll follow storytelling with a question-and-response time, explaining that he doesn’t do question-and-answer sessions because he doesn’t have all the answers, but he loves questions.
“The beautiful thing about questions is there’s always nuances to them,” Young said. “and people also bring meaning from their own lives to those questions … questions are an invitation to relationship.”
After the formal presentation, there’ll be a meal with guests who choose that option when purchasing tickets.
Young’s presentation will begin at 3 p.m., followed by the optional meal. For tickets to the show or meal, call 1-800-267-7553 or go to rosebudtheatre.com.