The Mole And The Violin
About the Author George Brummell is the author of his memoir Shades of Darkness. He is retired from the US Army, a war veteran blinded as result of a mine explosion in Vietnam. He is also a retired National Field Services director for the Blinded Veterans Association and a graduate of the University of Akron with a degree in social work. Despite his injuries, he is very active—riding his tandem, writing, public speaking, and traveling the world with his wife, Maria. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, and enjoys visiting area schools, motivating children about his journey. While conducting a writing workshop at an area elementary school, he noticed that children responded positively to his unique circumstances, which motivated him to write a book for young readers. Since blindness is a subject he is very familiar with, he chose a mole as the protagonist. George felt Mikey the mole was much like him—independent curious and didn’t let sightlessness get in his way. He got the idea of the instrument from his violin-playing granddaughter, Emma. She inspired him at a young age with her hard work, discipline, and persistence to master the instrument. George thinks his positive, upbeat attitude and interesting stories have motivated children in classrooms to better their writing and reading skills. Now he wants to motivate through The Mole and the Violin, a book that introduces young readers to a nearly forgotten creature that survives in an dark underground environment and to the beauty of the violin.