Kickstarter

One hundred and twenty-five years ago, the story began when a family gathered around a table and a single flame. Miserably poor in rural Bohemia, ancient Czechoslovakia, they were willing to do whatever it took to change the course of their history, even if it meant sacrificing everything they owned. This is my family’s story.

On May 24, 2010, I stood between a set of train tracks and a dirt road in rural Bohemia and set out to find my long-lost family who had once pooled all of their money to set my great ancestor free. Knowing little more than the name of their original town and my ancestral last name, I set out to find one person in a country of ten million people—a relative who didn’t even know that I was looking for them. This fall, my hope is that you'll get to see how the story unfolds.

Why I Need Funding and How I'll Use It

Similar to how my ancestors pooled their money long ago to set one person free, I’d like to ask you to help me do the same. Because I am publishing the book myself, I have to incur several thousand dollars of expenses (printing, advance review copies, editing), and without selling copies in advance, I'll have a tough time being able to release the book.

What this boils down to is ... I need your help. For two years I've tried to go it alone, but I've recently learned that like anything else, it's hard to release a project of this size without the support of the people who make it a story worth telling in the first place. If you're interested in the book and would like to get a copy, I'd be honored to have your support.

  -Steve Hanna

The following text and endorsements will appear on the book when it releases October 1, 2012.

Everyone has a family. Few people go and find them.

Twenty years ago, a father writes a letter to his last surviving ancestor. Written on a whim and soon forgotten, the details of the letter disappear while a woman tends a pharmacy, waiting for someone from long ago. Standing between them are six generations, a forgotten dream, and somewhere called home.

On an unlikely winter night, Steve Hanna is charged with finding the story between them. Standing between him are the snows of Germany, an ancient pilgrimage, and a journey through Morocco. Armed with nothing more than the word of a dead ancestor and a distant pact, Steve enlists the help of one random person and sets out to find his long-lost family.

“When Steve returned from his journey, he told me the incredible story you’re about to read. I told him that he should write a book about what he encountered, and two years later, here it is.”

   -Dan Bukvich, international composer of Symphony No. 1 (In Memoriam, Dresden, 1945). Dresden is a major location in A Home Called Your Own.

“Inspiring.”

   -Kellen Moore, NCAA all-time career leader in football wins

“This book is what happens when the life you're living meets the life you've always wanted.”

   -Jodi Marie Fisher, author of the book Where Are You Going?

“The University of Idaho prides itself on producing a legacy of leaders. Behind every leader, however, is a pressing dream and an equally powerful believer. Steve and his father, the two main characters, are two such believers whose vision of home constantly eludes them. A Home Called Your Own isn't just fine writing, it's fine storytelling that speaks to the heart of who and what we call home.”

   -M. Duane Nellis, President, University of Idaho

“A riveting and engaging story about our own lives and how we individually and collectively seek to rediscover a home called our own.”

   -Dr. Vincent Muli Wa Kituku, CSP, international motivational speaker and author of the book Overcoming Buffaloes

“A Home Called Your Own with its search for ancestors reminds us that no matter how forgettable our lives may seem at the time, they’re anything but forgettable.”

   -Mark Olson, US Army, Iraq Veteran