Dan Coonan

IN THE HOPES OF INSPIRING OTHERS . . .

During my time in the Athletic Department at Santa Clara University, our Academic Services Director, Zoe Segnitz, prominently displayed the above quote outside of her office for all the students to see.  I passed by several times a month on my way to see Zoe, and each time I made a point of looking up at it. It always felt eerily as if Mary Ann was speaking directly to me. I promised myself (and Mary Ann) that one day I’d make her right.  I think it’s telling that this quote was uttered by an author.

I’m in no way dissatisfied with my career or employment choices, and I have never wanted to be a full-time author.  I love what I do. However, ever since I took Paul Gianini’s Creative Writing class on Fridays in 6th grade at St. Anthony’s in El Segundo, I have wanted to write a novel.

Years later I took Creative Writing at Notre Dame from a novelist named Elizabeth Christman, and had to get special permission to do so because it was an upper division course closed to most majors. I loved it. A buddy of mine from my dorm took it with me and we had a blast. We had to write a short story under a pen name every week, and everyone in the class got to read and critique each story. This all of course had nothing to do with my major or career plans, but I hoped one day I’d get around to developing that further. I started keeping a file of ideas for that novel I’d write one day. I’ve met many people through the years who have maintained a similar file.

I wrote for the Law Review in law school, and writing was essential at every stop in my career (there were many). The congressional campaign I helped run had me write campaign letters and materials, which our highly paid consultants then proceeded to “dumb down.” That’s a topic for a different essay. :) I wrote extensively of course while practicing law, and writing was one of my favorite aspects of my position as Athletic Director at Santa Clara University. One of the best things we did was start a quarterly magazine covering Santa Clara Athletics profiling the very best of Bronco athletics. Most of it was written by our Media Relations Director and staff, myself and students. In addition to writing a regular essay for it, I loved going back in school history to research and profile seminal moments (the Orange Bowl team, the men’s basketball Final Four appearance, the baseball College World Series team, etc.). I relished doing all of that. Additionally, I wrote a weekly email covering athletics that eventually circulated to over 20,000 students, faculty, staff and alums. There was always something about the writing of our stories that really appealed to me. It felt right.

However, even with all that writing I was fortunate enough to have in my jobs, I still kind of yearned for something a bit more. I’d get jealous reading a good novel or seeing a great movie - jealous of the person who dreamed it all up. I’d watch the Oscars every year with all those stories being celebrated and, as I got older, feel a sense of regret that I never followed through with this crazy notion.

Then in February of 2017 a friend of mine, Julie Finigan Morris, released a great novel, Exit Strategy, which I immediately read and loved. I called to congratulate her on it, and just hearing her voice and her enthusiasm about it fired me up. I realized, of course, that she happens to be a phenomenal writer, and just because she did it didn’t mean that I would have what it takes to pull this off myself. However, from that moment on I started mentally preparing for the task. I kind of owed it to myself to give this thing a run. If not now, when? The more I thought about it, the more energized I became.

By then we had moved to Connecticut, and at first we really didn’t have a social circle like we did in California. Additionally, I don’t sleep a ton, so I found I had a little time at night after everyone else went down. That summer, when my work schedule got a little less demanding, I took the plunge. It felt great. That time at the very end of each evening instantly became one of the highlights of my day. I found it also just made me generally happier. I realized pretty quickly that whether or not this initial foray was successful, this was going to be something that would stay with me for the duration now. It’s pretty special to have the opportunity to add something new to your life after all this time which is that deeply meaningful.

Even in my most audacious dreams about writing I never would have imagined the rewards this has yielded. I signed a book for George Brett, of all people - the irony of me signing anything for him! The most heartwarming of all is how it has reconnected me with people from every nook and cranny of my life. Classmates from as far back as my first grade class at St. Anthony’s in El Segundo have read it, in addition to classmates from every school I attended, teammates from most every team I ever played on, friends and acquaintances from every decade of my life (of which there have been many), co-workers from every job I ever had, college classmates I didn’t even know in school who reached out to me, athletes and staff from my time in the Athletic Departmens of Cal and Santa Clara, and thousands of others. As a guy who really values friendships, I have relished reconnecting with all these people whose lives intersected with mine at one point or another, particularly those with whom I had long ago lost touch with. When you add in all the book clubs, author broadcasts, history podcasts, book signings (including my alma mater) and newspaper interviews, it becomes clear that few things have enriched my life as deeply as this rediscovered writing hobby of mine. I am enthralled with each aspect of the process. It’s the journey, not the destination. Although I like that too.

I hope I can continue to play a role, like Julie did for me, in inspiring others to pursue a long-neglected passion for this. I’m so glad I made good on this promise to myself. I think Mary Ann would be proud too…

Cheers!