A River of Stories
Wide-ranging and far-reaching, this collection tells the most compelling stories of the author’s life, the lessons he has learned and the characters he has met, including legendary cowboys on historic Texas ranches as well as his collection of “Life’s Final Songs”. Ainsworth considers this his legacy book.
To be told before I’m too old
John Piper, in his book Don’t Waste Your Life, says reading C. S. Lewis taught him “newness is no virtue and oldness is no vice. Truth and beauty and goodness are not determined by when they exist. Nothing is inferior for being old and nothing is valuable for being modern.”
I think a lot about the past these days. Living seven decades causes one to do that. But surprisingly, I think almost as much about the future. I wonder a lot about what I learned, what I accomplished, how much time I wasted, and how much I used wisely. I practice and have almost mastered the ability to spend less time thinking about mistakes I made so I can be more aware of the short amount of time I have left and try to make the best use of that time. I constantly seek but only occasionally seem to find my real purpose in life, my reason for being.
I have included many of my favorite stories in this book. Most of them were written to stand alone as articles, posts or part of an anthology. A few have not been seen before. They are in no particular chronological order, but I did my best to categorize them in the table of contents. I hope you will forgive when you see some portion of one story appear in a second or even third story. I can only say that this affirms my belief that stories are the threads that sew our lives together. Important events (stories) usually thread their way into other important events many years later.
Writing enables me to appreciate these incredible connections. In an article for In Touch Magazine, Jamie Hughes asks, “Why can we experience the same story a thousand different ways and never get tired of it?” Perhaps it’s because the storyline appeals to a deep-seated need we all share: a desire to be rescued from the world we know is deeply flawed . . . something elusive and ineffable that dances just beyond our grasp . . . and we get to experience it vicariously through a story.”
I often wonder why I and so many others fail to notice when we are happy, and why it takes a catastrophe or misfortune in our lives or the life of someone we know to make us appreciate our own blessings. Reading and writing stories has helped to instill in me a deep sense of gratitude. And writing has helped me to look back, review and even discover the best lessons I have learned and how I learned them. I discovered that growing up poor was an advantage, not a disadvantage. Those experiences instilled in me a deep acceptance of personal responsibility. I also have a much deeper understanding of the people, family, friends, and others who have exerted strong influence on my life.
We learn, of course, by doing, and I learned a lot through hard knocks and making mistakes, but I also learned a lot by listening to great mentors and reading their works. Through writing, I discovered almost every-thing I learned came from a story or involved a story. Life . . . is a series of stories. Life is a gift to us, and the way we live our lives is our gift to those who come after. I still often have doubts about why anyone would be interested in my stories, but I have learned readers find their own stories in mine. I have been a recipient of many such story-gifts and I want to pass those gifts on to others. Stories heal us and bind us together.
The first story involves many gifts I received from one person. I hope you will see not just the man I describe here, but that special man you knew that was like the one I describe. And I know there were many others like him. I also hope you forgive my putting this tribute first, because this book is not about death, it’s about life and living; about how stories heal; about how life is lived forward, but understood backward; about how stories allow us to reflect, to understand, to give meaning. This never-delivered eulogy explains better than anything I could say how stories influence our lives and why we should all embrace our own stories and the stories of others.
Reviews
I just finished reading A River of Stories, and I’m amazed at the development of Jim Ainsworth’s storytelling ability. The book is a collection of stories about life, family, friends and a quest to understand everything, and they reveal the depth of character of a truly wonderful writer and amazing man. The stories are not only entertaining, but many deliver underlying life messages and lessons that I wish could be plugged in and downloaded to my grandsons. I soon will be reading the last of this series, Rails to a River, and I looked forward to the bar being raised even higher
I was slow in reading this book due to being short stories, but once I became engaged with the stories, recognizing the true characters from his books, I could not put it down. I have been amazed at the many people Jim has met, drawing them into life long friendships. I must admit tears filled my eyes while reading the eulogies. I believe I got a glimpse of Jim’s character in all his books, but in A Rivers of Stories Jim revealed his heart. I loved this book so much, I plan on giving this book to others. I am looking forward to more books by this author.
These true stories are short, real, and very readable. One can dip in and out at will and still never lose touch with the Jim Ainsworth magic which can be found in each tale. In “The Eulogy I Never Delivered”, Ainsworth does deliver a pitch-perfect, loving tribute to a father who comes alive on the page—a tribute which sets the tone for the rest of the book: genuine, heart-felt remembrances of interesting people, times, places. This author is an authentic cowboy/writer, one of the best—fiction or non-fiction.
Awww! I love this one. I’ve known Jim for quite some time now, I thought, but when he said he was an introvert I would have dropped my teeth if they were false.
He has read more and done more than probably 25 other people put together. This book is personal all the way through. My husband and I had the had the good fortune to attend a function where Jim was one of the speakers. The minute he stepped on the stage he owned it. He was at one of our conferences and one speaker didn’t show up. Jim took his place. All of this from an introvert. I never knew. Unfortunately we haven’t been able to attend another speaking engagement.
He has read more books than your more than average bear and met more people. When God-Winks he has learned to take heed and follow through. There are no such things as coincidences. These are God-Winks. I’ve had them happen to me also. Learn to recognize them for yourself. Jim was born to write and share his life with his readers. He is a Godly man for which I am proud.
I have learned so much from Mr. Ainsworth’s books that I apply to my own life. Mr. Ainsworth, at times our lives have run parallel, but when you went to college you left me in the dust.
I don’t know when to quit talking about this book. It is wonderful. Some of the people he talks about have overcome so much to be what they became. I feel like I have done nothing with my life when I read Mr. Ainsworth’s books.
Jim Ainsworth is one of the few writers to write about a long-neglected, but significant region of the country—East Texas. This anthology records the area’s mythology and simultaneously tells us Jim’s own engaging narrative through a series of skillfully written stories and articles about his youth up to the present. In A River of Stories one gets to know Jim and East Texas. Their stories turn out to be, like those of all good writers, one and the same.
Jim Ainsworth can bring such emotion and feeling to the smallest situations. He makes you share and be part of his writings. As a teacher I always told my kids to paint a picture with words and that is what Jim does. I’ve read many of his books, and I’ve never been disappointed.
This book is a collection of readable stories taken from the life of the author. It gives a new insight into his wonderful Rivers series and his new Tee Jessup series. I particularly liked his Bucket List chapter and his tribute to his father. This collection will certainly provide food for thought. Don’t plan to breeze through the stories; stop and think about each one.
An eclectic collection of short stories by the author, largely drawn from his life. They offer mental images of places you may not have seen, but will find hard to forget. Most have some element of deeper meaning to them, while some are just plain unvarnished fun. Lots of good story telling here by a master of the art. Highly recommended.