“ I realized I had reached adulthood without even knowing what it is to be human. Nobody ever told me how dangerous it is or how risky. I started wishing I were a whale. At least they know what it is to be a whale. I mean, think of it I walk outside and scream at the top of my lungs and it travels maybe two blocks. A whale unleashes its cry and it travels hundreds, even thousands of miles. Every whale in the ocean will at one time or another run into that song. And I figure whales probably don’t edit. If they think it they say it. The joy of lovemaking, the crippling heart ache of a lost child it is all heard and understood. Predators and prey have equal voice. Whale talk is truth and in a very short time, if you are a whale you know exactly what it is to be you”

“ Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher Page 179

www.criscrutcher.com

At the conference I attended in Sacramento I heard this author of young adult books. This quote is from a book about the formation of a highschool swim team, by an unlikely group of boys, starting initally even without their own pool. Crutcher as a child and family therapist and involvement with child protection firmly believes that the voices and stories of teens need to be heard.