Norwood author donates kids book sales proceeds

Author Tom O’Toole, Jr. from Norwood, Massachusetts published “The Crabapple Tree”, his first book for children. His debut work as an author published on June 2, 2019, O’Toole decided to donate 100% of profits from sales of the book for the first 6 weeks of publication to Boston’s Higher Ground, a nonprofit in Roxbury that serves children, youth and families in Boston’s underserved communities.

“The Crabapple Tree is an allegory that teaches children to recognize and embrace the differences in all of us”, said O’Toole. “It is a story about learning to ignore vexing voices that invalidate personal identity. It is about choosing to recognize and hear The Greatest Voice in our lives.”

O’Toole said the story for The Crabapple Tree came to him in 2017 when he was walking in the Arnold Arboretum and observed a crabapple tree orchard planted on a slope of Peter’s Hill in the 1940s and 1950s by colonial farmers. “The story parallels my life growing up as a gay boy in a pious, legalistic, religious environment believing something was terribly wrong with me,” O’Toole continued. The author’s persona is portrayed as the main character in the story, a little boy named Hopeful, who learns to stand up to voices of opposition, criticism, judgment, and nullification of his beloved Crabapple Tree because they believe the tree does not produce real apples. “The story is truly for anyone who feels marginalized in some way. It is about crushed hope that is restored and dreams that were snuffed out being rekindled,” said O’Toole.

On August 15th O’Toole presented a check for $500 to Mossik Hacobian, Executive Director of Boston’s Higher Ground, a nonprofit in Roxbury that serves as a backbone organization to connect children, youth and families in Boston’s underserved communities to existing solutions and services that continue to improve, avoid duplication, empower and transform lives from cradle to career by engaging community-based organizations and key stakeholders in an effective and efficient service delivery model.

Hacobian said, “Higher Ground seeks to unite service providers to affect actual, measurable results in one neighborhood at a time. We work to bring about positive and lasting change in the lives of some of Boston’s most vulnerable children and families. We are grateful to Tom O’Toole for his generous contribution to help sustain the mission of Boston’s Higher Ground.”

For more information go to www.higherground-boston.org. “The Crabapple Tree” is available on Amazon.com in paperback, e-book, and audiobook. Author’s website: www.tomotoole.net.