In 2008, my wife and I decided to watch MAMMA MIA, the film with Meryl Streep, a musical fueled by ABBA songs. I was never an ABBA fan before that, in fact, I rarely listened to them, but after watching the film, I was so inspired by their music that I went to my office, that night, and started writing the book - FINDING AGNETHA.
The story came from a place deep inside me where inspiration burns - and within a matter of days, I had finished the story about a young boy in Buffalo New York, who loves ABBA and wants to become a musician, like them, but before that, he wants to reunite the band, one which had not played together in over 25 years. He concocts a plan and runs away from his troubled home, and with the help of another unsuspecting adult who also loves ABBA, makes it to Sweden and begins his search for Agnetha Fältskog, the iconic blond in the band, to convince her to get the band to do a live performance for the whole world. Of course, his parents and police in both America and Sweden are searching for him.
It's an inspiring story, because as Morrie Norris, our protagonist, inches closer and closer to making his dream come true, the people he encounters along the way, all of whom tell him that ABBA will never reunite again, find their lives upended, and their own dreams suddenly sparked back to life. No spoilers - but yeah, I believed that ABBA would reunite some day and I wasn't disappointed in recent years when that did happen. The story stands alone and still puts a smile on people's faces.
About the book:
Twelve-year old Morie Norris has a dream, like most coming-of-age kids, about his future. He doesn't want to be a doctor, a lawyer or the President, he wants to follow in the footsteps of the band that inspires him - ABBA. Living in a home where his parents constantly fight, Morie finds refuge in watching ABBA videos; moreover, dreaming about seeing the group perform. He concocts a plan and with the help of another ABBA fan, an older woman who befriends him and warms up to his passion, he tricks her into believing that his parents have signed off on the adventure, and off they go to Sweden. His mission? Find Agnetha Fältskog, the iconic blond and convince her to get the band together again for a live performance. He announces his plan on social media to hundreds of thousands of ABBA fans who not only cheer him on - but soon, word gets out that ABBA is going to do a live concert in Sweden, and a global matchstick is lit. As he makes his way to Agnetha's home on an island near Stockholm, people he meets along the way tell him that ABBA will never perform again, but Morie's passion is indelible and it rubs off on them, and they soon find themselves helping the young boy. An inspiring story that reminds us that anything is possible.