The Book I Can’t Stop Thinking About

Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved reading books. At night, I’d stay up late under my covers with a flashlight. On weekends, I’d crawl into a cubby-space in the basement wall, lounging for hours on blankets surrounded by books and a single electric lightbulb.

Depending on my mood, some are practical, some are helpful, some are fun, and some resonate long after I finish. 

I first noticed this book on a plane. A gentleman in his 60s sat next to me, holding a hard copy. Not many people read hard copy anymore, so I was intrigued. There was something about the way he held it, steady and absorbed, that made me curious.

Later, I listened to the audiobook of Theo of Golden by Allen Levi, a traveling musician from Georgia. I have not stopped thinking about it since. As I do when I get curious. I started googling Allen Levi. 

I learned he was a traveling musician from Georgia. And that this beautiful story was his first novel. From reading online interviews (and listening to his audio at the conclusion of the book), it turns out that he wrote Theo of Golden over a long period of time. Sometimes he’d work for a few weeks straight, then not touch it for six months. He admitted to giving up on the project a dozen times before finally finishing it. It turns out that he had no desire to publish it. His friends who read it encouraged him. 

He wasn’t worried about whether it would sell or be #1 on a publishing list. He wanted to know if he had the discipline to finish writing it.

In the book, Theo, a Portuguese man in his late 80s, develops a sense of community in Golden in quiet, intentional ways. He notices. He listens. He connects people who might otherwise remain strangers. Through small, thoughtful actions, he creates ripple effects that shape the lives around him.

The book gently reminds me that we are all connected. That every small act of attention, care, or introduction matters more than we realize.

The SEL Connection

As I sat with the story and then heard about the writing process behind it, I kept thinking about us. Two things in particular resonated:

(1) In education, we talk a lot about perseverance, grit, and resilience… often when we need to push through difficulty or produce quickly. Levi’s process tells a different story. Discipline is not always linear, and staying with something doesn’t always look like steady progress. It might look like stepping away and then returning after letting an idea percolate, rather than forcing it.

This is what my dissertation process looked like for several years. I would immerse myself in it, then step away for months at a time. For a long time, I viewed that as an inconsistency. Listening to Levi reframed it for me. Sometimes growth looks like returning, and discipline is choosing not to walk away forever.

(2)  Theo’s story offers another reminder. Connection means we have to pause... And listening means we have to slow down. Theo intentionally made time to share many dozens of portraits in person, allowing for at least an hour to authentically connect with the recipient. (Don’t worry! I didn’t give away any spoilers!) It reminds me that ripple effects of small actions are possible when we are present enough to notice where we can contribute. These are daily SEL skills in action.

Why This Matters

In education, we operate under the urgency of deadlines, testing windows, packed units, and grading cycles. But lasting growth happens through intention and attention.

It happens when a writer stays with a draft. When a musician practices the same passage again. When an educator pauses long enough to truly listen, notice students who feel unseen, and connect with two colleagues who could strengthen each other.

Hearing that Levi gave up a dozen times before finishing reminded me how rarely we normalize that part of growth for students.

Reading Theo’s story reminded me how powerful small, thoughtful actions can be.

When we recommend stories to students, we are not just recommending entertainment. We are recommending models of what learning, discipline, and relationship can look like.

Theo of Golden is a model of patient crafting and human connecting. It is a reminder that sometimes the most meaningful work is built in starts and stops, in doubt and in hope, in listening and in linking people together.

Try This Tomorrow

Talk with students about what “discipline” really means. Does it always look like steady forward motion?

Share a time you stopped working on something and came back to it later.

Ask students where they see ripple effects in their own lives.

Intentionally connect two students or colleagues who could benefit from knowing one another.

Reflection Question

What have you returned to that shaped you more than walking away ever could?

Where might a small, thoughtful action today create a ripple you cannot yet see?