My Friend Tracy

Two months ago, I got a call from an editor at Backpacker Magazine: "Hi, I'm Tracy Ross," says the voice. "I wrote this piece coming up in the January issue and I want to work with you to get pr.""I want this to go all the way, even to Oprah," she says.I've been doing pr for 20 years and I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard those words. Tracy didn't see me roll my eyes but I said, "send me the piece and I'll get back to you."In "The Source of All Things", she tells the story of how her step-father molested her for the first time in the family trailer at her favorite campsite on Idaho's Redfish Lake. "Sandpaper is crawling on my skin,” she writes. “At least that's what I think it is, until I feel hot breath against my cheek." It was the first of dozens of molestations, which would span the next 6 years, and haunt Tracy for 3 decades into adulthood.The article goes on to tell the story of her abuse, her mother's absenteeism and denial, and her journey into the wilderness of the rugged, isolated Sawtooth Mountains to confront her step-father, who agrees to travel with her to the original location of their turmoil and pain. What Tracy and her father learn is that the truth is much more complicated than a simple confession.When I read this piece I was floored by the quality of the writing. "Well," I thought, "Oprah is certainly worth the old college try."And guess what? It just might work. The producer fell in love with the piece, as I did, and so did his executive producer. Now it's up to Oprah.And not only is Tracy willing to talk, but so is her step-father. "He might be eviscerated," I tell Tracy. He knows that and he's still willing to go on. I think he's seeking redemption. I think he's a brave, imperfect man.I had the pleasure of meeting Tracy for the first time a few days ago, when I was in Boulder for the Backpacker sales meeting. She's like a mountain version of Maggie Gyllenhaal. Her eyes moved me -- they are both sad and joyful, open, and far seeing. Pain, faced head-on, can confer a complicated wisdom.As word of Tracy's piece spread, I've gotten emails from people telling me of their own abuse. One man was so angry and sad he could barely get his words out.This is the power of great and truthful writing. It can and does change worlds.