In my short little life so far, I’ve seen a lot of change. Growing up on "the fringe," I’ve watched small towns and open rural spaces gradually turn into busy, cluttered suburbs of strip malls and subdivisions. I’d always assumed these changes were beyond my control.  But the older I grew and the more I saw happen around me, the more I wanted to do something to help.  Without knowing what else I could offer, I began talking to people.

Now Coming to a Town Near You tells the story of small towns that are being forever changed by sprawl. The story is told through the eyes and words of farmers, mayors, environmentalists, and regular residents just like you and me.  They share their hopes, their fears, their disappointments, and their ideas about the future. 

These people come from all different walks of life, and each bring their own experiences and points of view to the table.  But over the course of the story, a commonness begins to emerge. A suburban homeowner’s reflection of changes past foreshadows a rural resident’s apprehension of the future. A farmer’s threatened business mirrors a boy’s threatened spirit. A mom in a subdivision struggles to get trees to grow in soil that has lost its roots.  And a cheeky author lumbers along a busy stretch of highway to take pictures of the traffic.  

The end result of this journey might not be something profound, or even something new. And it wasn’t meant to be. But it is my sincere hope that even a casual perusal will spark feelings, and in turn, conversations. Within each of us is the capacity to know what’s missing, what we’ve had too much of, and what we hope for.  The trick is to believe that these things matter and are worth fighting for.  So though it may not be rocket science, my hope is that this book acts more like a fire beneath our seats, charging us out of being passive spectators and into people willing to make a change.