The authors are identical mirror image twins. This photo was taken the day after they hiked the Grand Canyon from the North Rim to the South Rim, 6,500 feet down and 5,000 feet up over twenty-four miles in thirteen hours with temperatures ranging from 40 degrees to 110 degrees in “celebration” of their sixtieth birthday. For their sixty-fifth birthday they hiked sixty-five miles on the Appalachian Trail over four days and for their seventieth, they hiked seventy miles on the Pacific Crest Trail, also over four days. Below is more about each of the authors.
After living in ten places in New England by the time they were eleven years old and then spending four years in Florida, Alan and Jim lived for three years in Raleigh, North Carolina where they attended high school.
After that their paths diverged as Jim went to the School of Design at North Carolina State University in Raleigh while Alan went to the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill majoring in Political Science.
Jim followed up his undergraduate degree in Architecture with Masters’ Degrees in Architecture and Urban Design from Washington University. During his forty-three-year professional career Jim held positions as City Manager, County Manager and Consultant throughout the United States including Nashville, Tulsa, Cherry Hill (NJ), Seattle, Tampa, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Greenville (SC), and Newport News.
After retiring, Jim authored two professional books. His first book, A Journey of Challenge, Commitment and Reward; Tales of a City/County Manager contributed to the advancement of professional city management. The second, A Guidebook for City and County Managers; Meeting Today’s Challenges, provided direction for cities. In addition, he has authored dozens of articles and columns
Following graduation from college, Alan attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Law School and then practiced law in Central Illinois for thirty-two years. His general practice emphasized trial work including personal injury, family law and probate. After selling his practice to his son, who had been an associate with him for six years, Alan and his wife, Donna, relocated to Colorado.
After first, writing A Common Path: The Future of Religion, Science and Spirituality and acquiring a law license in Colorado, in 2011, he began a mediation and arbitration practice in Colorado. While developing that business, he also coauthored The Case for Truth: Why and How to Discover Truth. In 2021, Alan retired from mediation after settling 90% of the 800 cases he mediated. He still continues to perform arbitrations.
From Peril to Light is a natural progression of Alan’s legal career and writings. Alan wrote A Common Path: The Future of Religion and Science to demonstrate how religion and science could co-exist intellectually, offering a means for those with differing worldviews to discuss and formulate policy. Since it has become increasingly more difficult to agree upon what is factually true, a pre-requisite to productive discussions, Alan co-authored The Case for Truth: Why and How to Find Truth, a comprehensive guide to truth-seeking. From Peril to Light was written to promote a productive dialogue for our future. He believes it has become clear that we need to find a way to reduce the level of division and distrust among various groups in our society. From Peril to Light offers a path toward reconciliation. Alan’s understanding of how to bridge this divide and bring people together is enhanced by forty-six years of his work as an attorney, mediator and arbitrator.
As a city and county manager and consultant, Jim spent his career dedicated to making a difference for communities, working to improve the quality of life of residents. After leaving the active practice of managing cities and writing the above referenced books, JIm wanted to continue to make a difference by addressing broader societal concerns and the divisiveness in the country. Believing that he would not reach people with a non-fiction book, he felt that an engaging novel of fiction with the inherent message of understanding and acceptance could make a difference in the country. Writing a book with his identical twin was natural, given their common interest in addressing divisiveness in the country. In From Peril to Light, Jim applies his understanding of people and diverse cultural backgrounds from his work in communities throughout the country. He also utilizes his perspective on bringing people together for the common good from his work in forging solutions to intractable community problems. Jim has also written articles and columns in professional publications which cover current challenges facing cities today such as social justice and police reform.
Jim and his wife, Ann, returned to live in Seattle, Washington in 2019. During their 45 years of marriage, they have lived in ten different states spanning the country. The beauty of the Seattle area attracted them to move back where they once lived in the 80s. Being near one of their two daughters and two granddaughters was even more of a draw.
In addition to writing books, articles and columns, Jim serves as the President of the Homeowners’ Association for their townhome community. Ann is active in the Seattle Newcomers’ Association, currently serving as its President but her real passion is taking care of the granddaughters.
Ann and Jim enjoy the urban amenities of Seattle such as its cultural offerings as well as the nearby hiking and beautiful scenery. While the pandemic put a halt to their travel, they aspire to get back to exploring the culture and settings of countries they have yet to visit.
Alan Hiking in Rocky Mountain National ParkWith Donna, his wife of thirty-six years, Alan lives in Louisville, Colorado (outside Boulder) where they moved after Alan “retired” the first time (from practicing law). They chose the area after hiking and camping in Rocky Mountain National Park for almost twenty years before relocating there. They also enjoy hiking in other places around the world such as Italy, Switzerland, New Zealand and Tasmania.
After re-retiring in 2021 (from the mediation practice he started in Colorado), they spend some winter months in Scottsdale, Arizona. With five children and sixteen grandchildren, a good deal of their time is spent traveling to and visiting with family. While two of their children and seven grandchildren live in Colorado, the others live in Illinois and Nevada. However, they are planning a fourth trip to Australia next year to visit good friends they met on their travels and additional trips to Europe to hike, tour and visit other friends.