I was beginning to think more about stories. That’s what I had been doing. Letting people tell me their story. Storytelling has become a word like brand. What it means, depends on who you talk with, and what they use it for. Everywhere I look, I see storytellers. It is a job description, wanted corporate storyteller. Maybe, it is really about the audience. Sometimes, the real audience is you, the part of you that resides deeply inside. Because we all have a story. The question is, who is telling that story, and to whom. Or is it ever told? - John Van Dyke

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Discovering who we are. It’s about us in a rapidly changing America. One that has been changing and shifting as we have gone about our lives. No single story, or single person, or single location, or idea defines us. Our lives, our communities and cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories.

America is a Mosaic of ideas, dreams, hopes, desires, communities, family, culture and places.

Celebrating who we are. We need each other.

On the road in America, I have had conversations with over 130 people around the country. All walks of life. Listening to their stories. Understanding who we are can make a difference. Our country is at a crossroad and we need to cross divides and talk. Our divisiveness is not sustainable. It takes effort to make that first gesture to start the conversation, but you never know what you might find on the other end of it. I was surprised and encouraged by many and realized we have a lot in common as Americans if we just cross that road and start talking. I am sharing my journey and story, introducing many of the places and people I talked with in my upcoming book. Coming in the new year.

John Van Dyke

Wisconsin, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas

 

We have so much to talk about today. An American Mosaic has been filming conversations. Asking questions, trying to figure out who we are today in a changing America. Conversations we need to have…

The American Dream

Values and Families

Our Common Ground

Living with Change

 

Our places… Voices

Look for BOOM! THE BOOK of my 6 year journey around the country, dropping spring 2024. Ideas, thoughts, have come out of my conversations as I start connecting the dots on so many things. Our past has made today possible. Yet many tend to forget what America was built on. America is about ideas, values, beliefs, family, communities, and stories. It was founded as a community of diverse peoples who shared a dream of a better place and life. Immigrants, many of whom didn’t speak English helped build out America. They settled in the communities around resources and industry. Hard work was rewarded and families grew. Young kids who saw opportunities, and a better life, were educated. The American Dream was spreading. Anything was possible. Along the way we invented, and created, and prospered. John Van Dyke

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West Virginia, Ohio, Texas, New Hampshire, Iowa, Kansas, Alabama, Mississippi, North Dakota, Michigan, Arizona, California, New York, Washington, Montana… and more. We are shaped by our places, yet we share basic concerns, and country. An American Mosaic, on the road in America, discovering who we are.