The Saturday Morning Blogger – Portraits of Courage

James Barrington

In the forward to George W. Bush’s latest book, “Portraits of Courage,” Laura Bush wrote, “When George and I married, if someone told me that he would become President, I would have thought, ‘Well, maybe.’ He was running for Congress at the time, and we loved politics. But if someone had said, ‘One day you will be writing a forward for a book that includes George’s paintings,’ I would have said, ‘No way.’”

In his life after the presidency, George W. Bush took up painting. He eventually graduated from flowers, pets, and landscapes to portraits. With his love of our nation’s military personnel, and especially his commitment to our nation’s wounded warriors, he began painting portraits of many of the men and women he has come to personally know and help through the Wounded Warrior programs he supports.

“Portraits of Courage” includes George Bush paintings and brief stories of more than 100 current and former military personnel who were wounded in combat. The stories detail the circumstances and nature of their wounds and their paths to recovery. Reflecting real life, not all the stories have “fairy tale” endings, but all offer hope and display courage in overcoming adversity. They display adaptability and the strength of character of so many members of our military who put their lives on the line and are now recovering from horrific injuries.

I recently won a copy of the book at a presentation by Todd and Dallas Bell of Burrowing Owl Bookstore. After eagerly reading every story and examining every portrait, I am donating the book to the Canyon Area Library to make it available to everyone. For those who want their own copy, the Burrowing Owl Bookstore at 419 16^th Street on the east side of the courthouse square has copies for sale. It’s a beautiful coffee table book filled with stories of courage and inspiration.