This is my story about the story.

Be ready for a surprise.

By Gerald Chuah
"HOW OLD were you  in 1977?", said the booming voice, as I was
walking back to my desk in the newsroom after visiting the gents. I
was taken aback and surprised by the sudden conversation.   "Why is
he talking to me, and why is he asking me that question?" my mind
searched aimlessly for a reason.  But I smiled, cluelessly and
answered: "I was in Standard 5", waiting for a response.
Rehman Rashid, the Associate Editor of New Straits Times, based in
Kuala Lumpur, was referring to the year when Rocky (by Sylvester
Stallone) won the Oscar for Best Picture.   He had his own reasons
for that  query, as he was writing a review of my book, without my
prior knowledge -  what a surprise.  Rehman and I had earlier
attended a forum for local authors organized by MPH in August. It
was an honour for me to be relegated among the rank of authors for
the first time in my life.  One of the laments during  feedback was
there is not enough publicity in the media about  local authors. So
being an author himself and a conscientious person  I guess Rehman
must have felt compelled to review four new books by local authors
a month later:  Old Boy by Kam Raslan,  I am Muslim by Dina Zaman,
Tanah Tujuh by Antares, and of course my  debut work   In The Eye
of the Tiger. However due to lack of space, or by order of the
universe, he left my review to be printed the following week -
which is this Friday.  Today. Sept 28, 2007. Because he did not
want to butcher the story, now my book review seems to be a
standalone piece, getting all the space.

Back to the question, where was I in 1977, I got the drift and
answered I did not watch Rocky then, I only came to know Sylvester
Stallone in 1982 when I was 16 after watching First Blood.
Impressed by the indomitable spirit of the man who survived against
all odds, left me reeling in search of the truth.
I realized this inbuilt survival instinct is within all of us - we
have the inner drive, urge and capacity to be bigger than who we
are, and we will become  unstoppable if only we can tap into this
inner strength within us.  A few months later  I stumbled upon
Rocky III, after listening to the song Eye of the Tiger.  At that
time I did not know who was Rocky until I realized it was
Sylvester Stallone. I put two and two together, and  I realized
then, both are one of the same, thus began my journey of exploring
the truth and philosophy of Eye of the Tiger. Both had a similar
drive and character, to outlast any obstacle or difficulty in their
path.  Their never-say-die character and life philosophy became
permanently etched in my mind as I pursued the dream of writing and
publishing my own book.  During my secondary school days, I enjoyed
reading a newspaper column called Scorpion Tales,  written with
wit, humour and creativity. I admired the author's clear and witty
writing style which touched on various social issues during the
80s.

I must say until today I have not come across a columnist who is
more profound and entertaining than Rehman Rashid, who wrote that
column for a number of years.
Rehman then single-handedly came out with his famous book The
Malaysian Journey which sold thousands of copies and is still
selling, after the relaunch of the hardcover version recently.
His unique style of writing, wit, insight, and powerful command of
the language put him on the pedestal as one of the literary genius
of the country.  He is still highly regarded in the writing
community for his deep insights of the socio-political world and
sharp observation of human behaviour.

I  am grateful  our paths met.Although we worked in the same office, we seldom talked, until oneday in March, we stumbled upon each other at MPH Midvalley about a week after my book was displayed.  It must have been a good omen that our paths crossed that way, remarked Rehman later. Curious he  said: " I heard you launched your book."  News travel
fast. As a new author, it was my proud moment, so brimming with
excitement, I led him to the corner of the bookshop where my books
were prominently displayed, complete with a Rocky poster on the
wall.

Rehman was bowled over. He seemed really surprised that I have
chosen to write about this unexpected character, and why?
Initially he thought my book was a compilation of some local
entertainment stories and personalities I have met during my job.
"This is a far better subject," he added.  It was as surprising to
me that someone  understood my work and saw the light of what it
mean.  For years I seemed to work in the dark, and I never knew
anybody could have identified with my work.   Browsing through the
book Rehman  was evidently excited, as one who has a found  lost
treasure and said:"this is definitely a case of still waters run
deep."

Then he decided to buy a copy, and got me to autograph it. Wow, it
was such an honour to be autographing my book for Rehman.
And it must have been the first copy of the book sold, as they have
just been displayed days ago.  Despite his achievements Rehman was
generous in his praise and congrajulated profusely for having
achieved my dream.

Two days later I decided to call him for some feedback. And he said
he liked it, with the excitement still in his voice.
In fact he was totally amazed by the concept and idea of the book
which he finds original.

He even gave me a quote  to be used for my book:  "A work of
stunning originality", and he also told all his friends about it.
During the phone conversation, he said that he believed  I was
chosen to write the book.

Being a well read and well traveled person, Rehman certainly  is a
world wise man, who has breadth and depth in his perception.  He
digs deep through the surface to find the truth, and he saw the
light in my book.

Taking it as a whole, he was awed by the concept of the book, about
embracing one's truths and ideals which he thinks is rare in
today's cynical world, where it is but a forgotten virtue.
For me, having worked in the dark on this book for years, it was
certainly a joy to be finally understood and appreciated for the
work I have done.

For years, I  was pushing forward in this uphill task all alone,
with no end in sight.By sharing what I saw, and when others got it too brings me unspeakable joy, and also a great relief that I have finally
managed to get the message across.

 Rehman has read a book by James Campbell called: "A Hero With A
Thousand Face and The Power of Myth," which he thought was relevant
to my journey, and has been a powerful reference for him for years.
He just introduced those books to me last week. Although I have not
fully read or understood the books, I think basically it  dissects
the heroic characters and the journey we have embraced, as there is
a part in us that could identify with it, and we are all
interconnected in some ways to pass the energy along. There are
shards of broken pottery within all of us, waiting to be restored
and made whole, when we return to the path of our truth, as
inspired by these noble characters.

 Rehman said he was amazed that I have single handedly  written the
book without any reference to other great books by  Campbell, or by
other great authors who were exploring the same subject matter.
 A few days ago, when I spoke to Rehman in the office, he said the
most peculiar thing about my book, is my sense of honesty and
purity. "Stallone was pure in his passion and belief about his
work, and so are you..." and to be able to relate to those  ideals
and to reproduce it in a book, is in itself  the true miracle as we
live in a cynical world.

It is my privilege to invite you to read  Rehman Rashid's  review
of my book In The Eye of the Tiger which appears
today in the New Straits Times (Malaysia)  As I am writing this, I haven't seen the article, but I will leave it until tomorrow to be surprised.  I just keep my fingers crossed.

A colleague who has read the computer print out  earlier, just
hollered at me just now saying, "after the review is out whatever
copies that remain on  the bookstores will be sold." That gave me
some confidence.

To have Rehman Rashid review my book is certainly a great honour.
Afterall I have admired his work since I was young.
I think it is a hundred times better than any any book critic or reviewer, as Rehman said during the forum earlier, he would not have any damn
fool review his book.

This man is a voice by himself, and I am indeed honoured to have my
book  endorsed by one of the leading writer and thinkers in the
country.

For more information checkout my website at
www.stallonism.com/home.php.  You can also buy my book at RM55
(Malaysians only) - a whopping RM15 discount from  bookshops.
You can order the book straight from me at the special price. Bank
in the money to my account at 1-14253-292047 and send me an e-mail
at gchuah@gmail.com, and I will autograph and send you a copy. Good
luck

You can also call me at +6012-2739732. Till then goodbye and
goodluck.

Anything is possible if you believe.

1. Honest and insightful
2. Shows humane aspect of a living retired President
3. A major influence in many aspects of my life.

I have decided to borrow a book from the club library after our dinner. We will come to dinner part in the next posting. Anyway, I have been very frustrated with the outcome of the Iraq War Conflict. I have always been a great fan of Bob Woodward and I decided to pick this book up for some light reading.

US is undergoing major turbulence in its foreign policies and also the current administration is walking towards its sunset days. Seriously, I believe US will probably have a woman President by November 2008.

The confusion as well as the state of Iraq continues to be under seige. As we speak, the current Prime Minister of Iraq has not been successful in curbing violence in his own country and many politicians in the US have somewhat lost their directions.

This book promises no holds barred. Details of major figures trying to oust certain individuals from the corridors of power and the art of "politicking" at its best. Bob gives a true insight of what is happening and why US is finding it hard to withdraw from Iraq.

Hope you will try to catch this book in the bookstore.

Time to catch up with my reading. Have been wanting to read this book for awhile now. An easy reading book and of course, informative. Looking forward to this weekend very much. Have fun and god bless.

 

"I think it's very important to look into the mirror and actually see the images that everyone else see. Quite often we delude ourselves into the illusion we are a different person"  - Sylvester Stallone

Weeks ago, I managed to get this free book and never got around reading it. Now it's being read daily and it helps me to start my day. Faced with immense challenges daily, I am falling back to the divine as well as motivational quotes from the book written by Gerald Chuah, "IN THE EYE OF THE TIGER"

It is a must read. Easy to read. Simply heart warming and keep an open mind. It's truly helpful to get by the day when one is down and out. This book helps and I will be the testament to it.