I joined Grateful Steps Publishing owner Micki Cabaniss Eutsler and Dr. Lewis Rathbun at Barnes and Noble yesterday for Dr. Rathbun's book-signing. Kevin Mills, the Community Resource Manager, kindly had set up a table for us, with a cup of water for Dr. Rathbun, who is 97 years of age and more charming and quick than any of us younger folks could strive to be. People strolled in on their Saturday afternoon book browse, a fair number curiously stopping by to see what the well-dressed gentleman had written. Kevin announced over the intercom that we had a World War II veteran, pioneer physician and author signing his memoir, and when I heard these words all put together I was reminded yet again what an honor it is to be a part of Grateful Steps Publishing, and to work with Dr. Micki Cabaniss Eutsler, one of the doctor's protegee as she trailblazed perinatal medicine administered by a woman in the western part of the state.
The great value of having Grateful Steps here in the community is that it publishes our stories, our people, our history. We all know that it is nearly impossible to get picked up by a press these days. And a lot of voices are going to get lost in the mad dash to digital and the search for the next Pillars of the Earth. Don't get me wrong: I loved Pillars of the Earth, but, standing next to Dr. Rathbun, who has served medicine in mountain towns, war ships and finest hospitals in the country, I was very aware I was standing next to a real pillar of the earth, a man whose dedication and vision has upheld the health of countless thousands. It's no wonder that when I mention to someone who has lived in Asheville a long time that Grateful Steps published Dr. Rathbun's memoir I often hear how Dr. Rathbun delivered them or healed their mother or was a good family friend.
Grateful Steps' success comes from Micki's knowledge that we don't have to "beat" or "compete with" the big publishing houses. We are playing a different game, an equally valuable (if not moreso) game, of holding up the stories of people like Dr. Rathbun to light. That is our goal, and we'd like to thank everyone for stopping by who did, and invite anyone who didn't to swing by our office (or our website) or a bookstore to pick up a copy of A Doctor All My Life. Thanks for being part of another Grateful Steps story.
