R. Eric Thomas, HERE FOR IT

R. Eric Thomas, HERE FOR IT

Eric: I originally wanted to call the book Why Bother. It was right around the time that Hillary Clinton's book What Happened came out. I was really fascinated by the idea that you could pose a question that maybe was a statement, maybe was a question. For me, Why Bother kind of encapsulated the spirit of the book, which is like why bother to get out of bed in the morning? Why bother to try to make the world a better place? Why bother to try to feel like you belong? Of course, it would've been a harder sell, a book called Why Bother, but I do feel like, particularly in this moment -- I didn't write it for this weird, strange moment that we're in, but I think that spirit still carries through. Why are we trying to reach each other still? Why are we trying to make our mark in the world? Why are we trying to speak truth to power? I think it's because we feel like there must be something better on the other side. That's what the book is about, figuring out what's on the other side or at the end of the book or behind the next page.