Today we’d like to introduce you to Janet Lee.
Hi Janet, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I met Arnie Stewart when he spoke to my 11th-grade struggling students. He told them his deepest secret, at age 59 he had never learned to read and write. He had spent his entire life bluffing his way through. He told perilous stories of living in parked cars, eating out of garbage cans, and hitchhiking down busy highways. Arnie explained how his low literacy affected every area of his life. He had to cheat to get his driver’s license, he couldn’t fill out job applications, and he even accidentally fed his kids dog food. The day he spoke to my students, he was determined to tell them the lesson he learned: Always ask for help.
My rough students were in tears. They lined up to shake his hand. They asked for help and related to Arnie completely. This was an aha moment for me. I had worked with my students for months, trying to get them to open up. Arnie had accomplished this in less than an hour. I gained courage, walked up to Arnie, and said, “You don’t know me, but I want to write your book.” I thought, I don’t know how to write a book, but I’ll learn. “Not only that, Arnie. I want to help you get your story out to more audiences.” And that’s just what we did.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been 22 years since I made that promise to write Arnie’s book. It was not an easy road to navigate together. We ended up visiting 78 schools and speaking to over 28,000 children and adults. I witnessed every single audience member sit in stone-cold silence listening to Arnie’s words. I watched him transform every person with his gentle bravery and mission to make a difference in the world with his simple message: Always ask for help.
Publishing the book was next to impossible because I wanted the book to reflect Arnie’s story exactly. These stories contained mistakes and runon sentences. I wanted the book to be special for struggling readers with the lines left justified including pictures and celebratory page 100. Some manuscripts were returned streaked with red pen marks. Then, in 2012, we found out that Arnie had lung cancer. With only 11 days to live, I rushed to his side. His last words to me were, “Tell the kids to never be afraid to always ask for help.” He also asked me to keep on going for him.
The book was published in 2024, 20 years into our journey.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have always been in education. Since I was a little girl helping the adults in my life navigate life without reading and writing skills, I have always had a talent for teaching. I have taught in the high school, University, and online. I have written teacher’s guides for best selling textbooks and been all across Canada and the United States speaking about literacy and my experiences with Arnie.
I was a featured speaker on a podcast in 2023. This was heard by a gentleman who loved Arnie’s story. He connected me with a 2 time Emmy Award winning director who agreed to bring her team with me back to Canada in search of Arnie’s family and the students who heard his story. We have this footage and the footage of my book tour where I returned to Canada via the east coast of the US. Along the way people came forward to share their literacy stories with me and how Arnie inspires them to keep going.
The most fun part of the project has been working with Animation Director Dana Corrigan and her team of incredible art students. We are taking the art generated from the children who wrote Arnie letters during his tour and turning it in to animated scenes from Arnie’s life. Their work is very purposeful. They are on a mission to tell the story through the eyes of children and this adds an innocence to the story. Arnie’s voice is so authentic and the illustrations add magic.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
What makes me happy is to spend my days working on the project and creating art. I love my life in Safety Harbor and I love seeing what I can make with the experiences I have had.
Finally, getting to the point where I see the end of the film production for the documentary. I get to collaborate with animation teams and a documentary editor to create an arc for the film. It is like having the most wonderful artists on board to help me make sense of this incredible experience I had because I was willing to dedicate my life to a cause that matters to me and will help the world.
Pricing:
- The book $26
- Donate to the project
Contact Info:
- Website: https://alwaysaskforhelp.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arniesliteracy
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/everythingjanetlee/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB6awiK-WXo
- Other: https://seedandspark.com/fund/always-ask-for-help#story
Image Credits
Janet Lee
