Foreword to Bringing Jon Home by Patty Wetterling
I was devastated when I heard Jon was missing.
I knew a lot about missing children, the response needed, how to work with law enforcement, how to engage the media. These things I had learned through Jacob's kidnapping and working with so many... way too many other searching families. But Jon's disappearance was different. As much as I wanted to help, I knew little about finding a missing adult on a mountain.
David captures brilliantly the many stages of the search, of their grief and of their process of remembering. If there was a person or a resource to help anywhere... this amazing family found it and now offer that knowledge to others.
The world lost an amazing person on the Grand Mogul. But no mountain, no person; no accident can take away Jon's spirit and love... and the energy that he poured into his life. We can all carry that forward in our own lives with those we care about.
This is an amazing story of love and commitment honoring the promise that we make to our children. I'll always be here for you. They did it. They brought Jon home.
I wish I had met Jon. This book allows me to meet him and live my life a little deeper because of him. Thank you, David.
Patty Wetterling
Child Safety Advocate
Jacob Wetterling Resource Center
www.jwrc.com
Book Awards
Indie Excellence Award Release - National Book Award for inspirational writing.
Midwest Publishers Book Award Release - Regional Book Award for memoir writing.
Praise for Bringing Jon Home
"David Francis and his family engaged Minnesotans across the state from the governor to pilots they didn't even know in their search for Jon. Their personal bravery and persistence inspired all of us to help."
- Ann Rest, Minnesota State Senate
"Bringing Jon Home tells the story of a great young man, a son, a brother and a friend who was taken from us at the very moment he was poised to do so much good; a true tragedy in the classic sense of the word. At a time in which the public good can be short-sighted (at best), this story is a testament to the altruism that lives in all of those unofficials who moved heaven and earth."
- Cary Griffith, author of Lost in the Wild
"A father turns the tragedy of losing a loving son on a far-away mountaintop into a story of family, friends, strangers, communities all coming together to search and, ultimately, to embrace each other. This book becomes a reminder that none of us knows what tomorrow brings. But it also reminds us to appreciate the basic goodness around us - and to never forget to hug our kids. Every father should read this book."
- Doug Grow, writer, Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Bringing Jon Home is a powerful story about loss, unconditional love and human resilience inside one American family."
- Chuck Logan, author of Absolute Zero