About the Book
Nearly everyone has faced difficult decisions growing up, some with the potential for life-changing results. I was no different. The most common sentiments expressed to me in my childhood home were statements like, "Do you even know what you're doing." "They don't want you there." "You won't learn anything by reading that book." I quickly learned that no one there was going to go out of their way to offer encouragement for the things I hoped to accomplish, and I often wondered if they were just defending their own refusal to take risks due to the fear of failure or was it me? In my book, Reaching For Fireflies, I rejected the confined route others were taking and decided to reach outward to a brighter, more wide-open path for myself. Once I was finally old enough to get out and separate myself from an often toxic home environment, I began to drastically expand my vision for my future. As an adult, new faces and challenges appeared as I continually questioned "the way we've always done things" and that impelled me to deviate from other people's fervent need for predictability. It's easy to succumb to incessant derision, but the easy route often begets mediocrity. My life has been full of decisions, risks, and failures but also joy, love, success, and independence. Fueled by my desire to be unfettered and to accomplish more, I was able to follow my dreams, pursue my passion, build relationships, and share my life with the most beautiful spirited woman on the face of the earth.
About the Author :
Ed Tar was born in Detroit, Michigan. His memoir takes on his journey growing up in vibrant Motown- the car capital of the world. Ed was the sixth-born in a family of seven children. With two parents and a grandmother also in the home, it was a chaotic and often negative environment, with constant turmoil surrounding a lack of money, oftentimes, not enough to buy coal and heat the house. "The home situation taught me resilience," Tar said.
Finishing high school, a challenge in itself, as half his older brothers and sisters simply quit school before graduating, Ed decided he would leave that toxic situation as soon as he received his high school diploma, making the life-changing decision to enlist in the U.S. Army.
Not certain what his future would hold following three years in the military (two of which were served in Europe), he was encouraged by his boss to go to college. Though not entirely confident he could succeed in "this college thing," as he referred to it, Ed finally decided to give it a try, enrolling in the University of Detroit. It was another life changer.
"The most memorable of all my college courses was my English class," said Tar. "It was taught by young author Joyce Carol Oates, who challenged us every day to broaden our thinking by introducing us to exciting new authors to explore and study. Her class turned me on to college, and I just thought to myself: "I get it."
He eventually earned his BA degree in Business, with minors in English and philosophy.
It was in college where Ed met his future wife Pat, a sparkling and popular student with aspirations of modeling and acting. Despite going separate ways after graduation to pursue their respective careers, his in journalism, they met up again over a year later and decided to get married.
After moving back to Detroit and working for four years as a producer at a large media production company, Ed decided to strike out on his own as an independent producer and writer. He did that for a year in Detroit. Then with a growing family and a childhood dream of living on the West Coast, he picked up his family and moved to Los Angeles.
Pat continued her career as a TV and motion picture actress in Hollywood while Ed ran the Los Angeles office of a Chicago film company for two years. Then, once again, he reached for glimmering independence and the freedom to chart his own path. He left his steady job to go at it by himself as an independent writer and producer, writing television documentaries, short films.
Ed's work has been honored with awards at film festivals across the U.S.- including the prestigious International Film and TV Festival in New York-plus many other individual awards.
With "Reaching For Fireflies," he is presenting his first book. "There were so many moments, stories, and challenges growing up that I began looking at them as glimmering fireflies within my reach," he said. "If I was going to realize my dreams, I had to learn how to grasp opportunities and make my own decisions early on. That also helped me navigate the tough and competitive business world."
Ed Tar continues to live in Los Angeles with his wife, now an international painter/artist. They have two adult children: one a television producer, the other a sought-after independent designer.
Review :
"You're an accomplished writer and story teller. The story telling is on a high level and the action moved nicely. Congratulations. I found the story engaging and stayed with it to the end."
Paul Gainor, author/poet, "Humans and Other Animals" "In Reaching For Fireflies, author Ed Tar reveals the power of the human spirt to overcome negative influences in the mystery and light of possibility."
Brenda Crouch, author, "Fight Forward"
"This book is an easy and wonderful read. It brings back our own memories of how we grew up and relates to the excitement, struggles and fun the author eloquently describes. No matter your background or age, you will dream about your own life and how you dealt with similar issues."
Robert King, Advisor, MGO International
Bravo! Reaching For Fireflies is an engaging account of one man's life experiences, rich in details from the pen of a gifted story teller. It is an invaluable blueprint for anyone blessed with the courage, passion and conviction to chart his or her own course in life. So rich in the way it's written. I can feel the struggle. Amazing"
Michel Stein, Former UCLA Law Professor
"What you sent me was great."
Gerry Byrne, Vice Chairman, Penske Media Corporation
"It's an inspiration. It should be required reading to every kid that's in every juvenile facility. If something got through to 3%, we'd be winning! " M. Kapper. Live Events Director
BOOK LIFE PRIZE, "Reaching For Fireflies is a testament to the power and importance of determination . . ." "Clearly written. The author nicely integrates historical events and circumstances to anchor the storytelling." " . . .his attitude and willingness to persevere is unique and refreshing."
