Mark Trout of Magnolia recently published his first book, A Dad’s Journey: Memories and Musings of a Single Dad.
Trout lost his wife to cancer in the fall of 2004 and unexpectedly found himself raising his two kids, Hannah (11 at the time) and Sam (who had just turned one), on his own. In May of 2013, he started a blog entitled “Holding Together the Jello” (www.holdingtogetherthejello.com) to relate many of his experiences. His book features a series of blog posts both humorous and serious that recounts his story of losing his wife and his adventures as a single parent.
“I’m both honored and surprised to have a book published,” said Trout. “I’ve always enjoyed writing, but the book was a surprise.”
Trout teaches marketing and business classes at Southern Arkansas University. He has also worked in radio and in newspaper at the Nashville News, the Nashville Leader, and the Arkadelphia Daily Siftings Herald. He worked at SAU in the Communications Center before he began teaching at the university.
Trout’s book jacket
In his spare time, Trout enjoys running, swimming, reading, playing chess, and watching “bad movies.”
“I started the blog as a way to tell some of the funny and unusual stories of our family. And I had also hoped that it might be a help to others, especially fathers, who found themselves as single parents,” said Trout.
The book is available on-line through the publisher at www.raburnpublishing.com.
Raburn Publishing is based in Durham, NC and publishes fun, quirky, and useful books for children and parents.
