Arkansas Books
A monthly series including news about an Arkansas book, author, event, or item of literary interest to Arkansans.
Erin Wood. Each spring during the Arkansas Writers’ Conference, an outstanding Arkansas writer is inducted into the Arkansas Writers Hall of Fame. This year’s congratulations go to Cara Brookins, the author of eight books and an
inspirational speaker.
If you don’t already know the viral story of how Brookins escaped an abusive marriage with her four
children and built a home in Bryant relying on YouTube tutorials, you’ll want to pick up a copy of Rise: How a
House Built a Family (St. Martin’s, 2017) right away.
With no one to turn to but herself, Brookins learned the power of having no “plan B” as she googled how to
build a foundation, install plumbing, and run gas lines. Then, with no experience beyond assembling a bookshelf,
she put herself and her construction crew of four children to work.
When the news story was first released, it went viral in more than 75 countries and was viewed more than
two billion times. The world continued to watch as this family rose from victims of abuse to rebuild their broken
family through this remarkable do-it-yourself project.
Rise has recently been optioned to become a major motion picture, so if you enjoy reading the book, you
can soon watch it on the big screen.
If you feel like you need a sweeping life change, perhaps Brookins is your motivation. Through nationwide
speaking engagements, many of them for corporate clients, she encourages others to set big goals and go after them,
and to eliminate “plan B.” Visit Brookins at carabrookins.com.
A Hot Springs native, Erin Wood is a writer, editor, and publisher in Little Rock. She owns and runs Et Alia Press
(etaliapress.com). She is editor of and a contributor to Scars: An Anthology and is currently at work on Women
Makers of Arkansas, featuring 50+ women creatives. Wood’s work has appeared in Catapult, The Rumpus, Ms.
Magazine’s Blog, Psychology Today, Tales from the South, and elsewhere, and was a Best American Essays
notable.
