Local author Michael Hawron treated Texarkana library lovers to a reading from his first book Thursday at Friends of the Texarkana Public Library's annual fundraiser luncheon.
Hawron spoke about the themes and origins of his memoir "Entertaining Detours: Unique Tales from My Journey Along the Road Less Traveled" and read an excerpt to about 60 people gathered for the event.
A longtime Hong Kong resident who now lives in New Boston, Texas, with his family, Hawron has visited more than 30 countries on five continents.
Becoming an author was a "detour"-an unexpected turn his life has taken-like others he recalls in the book, he said. Learning to love such diversions is one of the memoir's central themes.
"Life holds detours for many of us. There's unplanned events and sometimes uncontrollable actions by other people that often disrupt our plans. And sometimes the decisions and choices that we ourselves make send us on a detour. So the key is to enjoy it. I firmly believe that when we embrace these detours, we have a golden opportunity to grow as an individual, gain new perspectives and to make new friends," Hawron said.
He read a short passage from the book about his surprise encounter with a troop of baboons in a dark Hong Kong forest, ending the reading on a cliffhanger.
"'Mama baboon charged directly at me.' And to find out what happened next ," he said, gesturing to the books for sale at the back of the room as the audience laughed.
Hawron said he is at work on his next book, an account of his family's adjustment to living in New Boston to be titled "The Little Town With the Big Heart."
Friends of the Texarkana Public Library charged $10 for admission to the luncheon, one of the organization's biggest annual fundraisers. It took place on the Arkansas side at First United Methodist Church's Cabe Fellowship Center.