I want to share with you an OFF THE CUFF I had with the author Kevin Gantt about his new book titled Inflection. Upon first glance, I loved the cover and knew that it would be very much an inward journey. Therefore, I had to interview this author on the last day of the 2015 SC Book Festival, and I must confess that this was one of my favorite OFF THE CUFFS because Kevin Gantt relayed to me his own life from a male’s point of view on how men really do have emotions and how he was cut to the heart during his divorce.
Many people ignore and hardly pay attention to men during a divorce and how emotionally it may scar them, however, author Kevin Gantt gives his own personal testimony on how he learned, became stronger and allowed God to bring him through the pain into purpose.
I’d just finished tossing something in my mouth when I wanted to find out what Gantt’s book was about. We were located on the same aisle at the book festival, so I took a brief moment to uncover what was behind the man and his book. He proceeded to let me in as we spoke.
“Inflection. I released Inflection October 31st, 2014, so it’s a relatively new book.”
“Inflection was born from journals. I write about my divorce and the spiritual journey to reclaim my life, really to rebuild my relationship and recover from the divorce.
I literally take it straight out of my journal, and at the end of every chapter, there is a heartfelt poem that coincides with what the subject matter of that chapter is.”
The book cover, I felt, looked amazing, and the title as well. I’d known the word inflection to mean a change in pitch or a change in something, so right then, I wanted to know more. It’s not often that I was able to talk with a male author who doesn’t mind sharing his life hurts and struggles when it comes to lost love in marriage. He didn’t pretend he was the tough guy nor did he behave as if he didn’t care at all. He literally put it all out there for me in this one on one.
“The front cover…there’s symbolism in that cover because that’s a reality rip. The divorce ripped through everything that I thought was real in my life, and it tore down into my spirit.”
How long were you married, I asked…
“13 years before it got rocky, 16 years before I was officially…okay, I’m gonna say this…I’m [about to be] 45. So I was married for 16 years right up until the divorce. So we have four children together, so that reality rip really did rip apart everything that I thought was my life. But in doing that, the rip exposes who I really am, the spiritual me.
I developed that relationship with God and strengthened that, reprioritized my life, learned how to establish healthy relationships, establish my purpose like what am I supposed to do. And then I got to realize my dreams.”
Inflection in three words is… sensual, inspiring and refreshing! It is a string of life experiences covering the full gamete from conflict, relationships, spiritual growth to realizing your dreams. Inflection is an intimate look at the struggles and internal battles of the author due to the emotional trauma of divorce.
Each chapter compels the reader to resolve crisis by taking an inward look. There are moments when laughter will overtake you and moments where you become so immersed in the author’s challenges that you literally partake in the pain, joy and triumph he poured into Inflection.
Each chapter ends with a treat, heartfelt poetry that provides insight into the heart of a man expressed with rare glimpses of emotional sensitivity. Follow along as the author provides practical steps and valuable life lessons on his journey to self-discovery. Inflection is an adventure that will not leave you disappointed! — excerpt taken from Amazon
Read Inflection: A Journey of Self-Discovery now!
So through your pain you got some purpose…?
“I did. That’s exactly the way to say it because I discovered that I could write poetry…to vent my emotions and everything I was going through, I discovered that I could write poetry through the journal entries. Once I wasn’t mad anymore, my writing evolved into poetry.
And I have a life guide at the end of the book which lets you take a parallel journey of Inflection, so if your traumatic event or the most traumatic thing that happened to you in your life was not divorce, maybe it was the death of a family member, maybe it was an illness, maybe it was some type of abuse that you had to endure, or an unhealthy relationship with your parents. You deal with that in a spiritual way, release that and give it God so he can help you get over it.”
This is a Christian book, correct, coming from a Christian standpoint when you speak of God?
“Yes, right, right. And I talk about those experiences, how God reached and helped me during those critical times, and then I talk about how I’m evolving but I reprioritized my life, putting God first…no juggling that, putting God first and then prioritizing family is here, how I provide for them will be the next tier. And then, if my purpose evolves, like writing, if this is what I’m supposed to do, then God will bless that, and that will be how I provide for my family and leave a legacy for them.”
How long did it take you to write?
“It took me about a year to write the book, but I studied the process. So I self-published. I didn’t want to sign with a publishing company.”
Do you think it’s important to own everything that you do?
“Yes. This is me. This book is me, and I’m talking intimately about the things that I went through. I want to give that to people so that they can understand that, hey, what I went through is unique, and I want them to be able to learn and grow, too. So the life guide lets you take that parallel journey. It asks you four or five questions that parallel with what I went through in that chapter, and you can say “what did I go through? Did I get over this the right way? Did I heal from this, or am I holding it or struggling with it?” And it’s real talk because I talk about building healthy relationships.
I have a chapter called “The Game of Love” and I talk about what men are really looking for when they want to establish a relationship. It’s a spiritual journey, but it’s real talk. I don’t want you to think that I’m beating you over the head with scriptures. I’m saying, look, I went through depression, I cried, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat, but in the aftermath, I’m stronger, I’m better.”
I have poetry that’s heartfelt. Someone told me – “Your poetry…you’re writing about emotions… I don’t know how that works with a man.” Men have emotions.”
When Kevin Gantt stated that men have emotions, that was literally the end of my interview at that point because I must admit that I had been guilty of sometimes believing that men…(don’t judge me)…didn’t feel as much as women about many things.
However, after listening to Gantt spill his emotions about his family, going through depression and the like, this only proves that men may not always reveal their emotions the same exact way women do, but they absolutely do have them just the same.
This was one of my favorite OFF THE CUFFS at the SC Book Festival. Be certain to get his book today!