00:35 - Dori Durbin 

Welcome to the Power of Kids Books, where we believe books are a catalyst to inspire and empower change. I'm Your Host Dori Durbin. What advice could an ultra runner offer your kids? Well, what if that runner even suggested that kids try to run up a volcano? Today's guest by profession is a fundraising coordinator. He might also be described as a volcano runner He grew up off the coast of Australia, loving surfing, jogging, and finding magic in nature.

01:14 - Dori Durbin 

As he grew older, his lust for adventure continued to grow, so that he competed two ultra races in Australia and in South America. Those races inspired his picture book, The Boy Who Ran Up a Volcano, which recounts his 13 hour run up a volcano in Peru. Welcome to the Show Jaron Stt.

001:34 - Jared Styan 

Hey, Dori, thanks for having me on.

01:37 - Dori Durbin 

Thank you, Jared, thank you for being here. And, by the way, what were you thinking?

Running up a volcano is not something most people is aspired to do, so tell me about that.

01:52 - Jared Styan 

I've I've heard that a few times. My 1st like run I guess started in Australia, so I ran up Australia's highest mountain in pajamas and yeah, it was a fundraiser basically for, for, raising money for to help kids with cancer. And yeah, I guess ever since then, like I, I moved to South America and I was an English teacher there for a while. And the city that I was in, it's called Ara Kepa and in the city of Ara Keeper, there's actually three volcanoes around the city and they're huge, they're kind of, they kind of tower literally quite over the city.

02:30 - Jared Styan 

So I was always looking up at this huge volcano when I was living there and um, yeah, I was like, oh, I wonder what the next, you know, idea for, like a running event or something would be, you know, and I'm thinking that and I'm looking up at this. Came, I like, you know what, maybe I could maybe run to the top of that. So yeah, I started looking into it and I actually found that there's an ultra marathon event race that they do every year, called the Old Misty Sky Race. So yeah, I signed up for that.

02:58 - Jared Styan 

I trained super hard, as you'd imagine, for You know, about eight months and did some mountaineering in other parts of Peru to climatized my body to the altitude and yeah, lots of running and training. Yeah, eventually I made it to the top of that volcano. It took about 13 h to make it to the top and then back down again. So it was pretty, pretty wild and I had a few attempts before just hiking up that I didn't make it. I was, I guess a part of my mind was slightly surprised that I made it to the top, but yeah, super proud of it.

03:36 - Jared Styan 

It was, yeah, it was wild.

03:39 - Dori Durbin 

Okay, let me back up just a 2nd because we have a friend who I, I told you right before my husband's run fifties, we that runs hundreds, and we were part of their pit, pit crew and pit crews, if you don't, people don't know what those are. It's like you're the people on the edges who are providing water and nutrition and sometimes even changes of clothing and shoes, you're going straight up. So I'm assuming you don't have a pit crew.

04:05 - Jared Styan 

I didn't have a pit crew, there were people around, so you know, if something went really bad. I would have been okay, but yeah, I didn't really have a crew per se, So I carried all the stuff in my backpack, all the, all the water and food and everything I'd need.

04:21 - Dori Durbin 

Wow, and if you don't run, let me just say that's a hard thing to do because it fights you with every step that you take. All that stuff in the back likes to move around, right?

04:33 - Jared Styan 

Yeah, that's true. And any extra weight is, yeah, it makes things a lot harder so.

04:40 - Dori Durbin 

Okay, so for people who don't run, did you run up this mountain with running shoes? Did you go barefoot? What did you do?

04:51 - Jared Styan 

I ran up in my favorite running shoes at the time, eventually made it to the top, although I would say like there are parts of it that I, I wasn't able to run, so I had to sort of just hike, like kind of walk fast. Because it was literally, you know, as steep as you could imagine, like almost vertical. I don't know what that is exactly in degrees, but yeah, it's pretty well, you can't really run that. And it's, it was, there were sections too where it was like, ash, you know, it was a volcano, so it was literally ash.

05:24 - Jared Styan 

So the way that, you know, you'd imagine like a sand hill to work or something like that, your feet just get buried in there. So um, yeah, there were sections that you, you just couldn't, couldn't run. So yeah, but I will say like when I got to the top and then running back down again, that was really fun because you could kind of like slide down little sections it was all ash. That was cool.

05:46 - Dori Durbin 

Okay, so there were other people running with you also, like other participants, right?

05:51 - Jared Styan 

Yeah, exactly.

05:54 - Dori Durbin 

Were you one of the few to actually go all the way up and come all the way back down, or how did that work?

06:01 - Jared Styan 

Surprisingly, most people make it up. Some people are unable to make it up. Are also like cut, cut off times for the event. So some people didn't make that as well, but yeah, luckily most people did make it and, and made it back home safely as well, which is good. Yeah, there's some incredible people out there that, you know, do some really impressive times up the volcano as well. It's pretty, pretty amazing how, yeah, I don't know, I guess how tough the human, humans are in general, in human body as well to, to do things like that.

06:35 - Dori Durbin 

I was gonna ask you that kind of next, like what were some of the struggles that you had in running, you know, beyond just the running, because there is quite a bit of changed from altitude and everything.

06:48 - Jared Styan 

Yeah, I actually, I don't think I have much talent, in in regard to altitude. So I did. That's why I did train quite a lot. I, I probably summited or at least tried to summit about six mountains before that, and that was mostly just to to be exposed to altitude so that my body got used to it before I actually started the race and then The day before the start of the race I was already up l misty up the volcano. With a friend of mine. So we just hiked up there, hiked back down, then we had a day, about a day off to just sleep and, and eat and then the next day I did the run.

07:28 - Jared Styan 

So yeah, I think just careful planning and then, putting in the work to expose yourself to altitude before is super important, I think. Otherwise I wouldn't have made it. I don't have, you know, I live in Australia. It's pretty much zero Here.

07:45 - Dori Durbin 

Well, I think that's so impressive. And I mean, the other thing that boggles my mind a little bit is not only did you have that experience, but then you turned around went into the Himalayas as well. So what was that?

08:00 - Jared Styan 

So I've been to Nepal quite a few times, I've always had like a fascination with the Himalayas. The 1st time I went there, I think it stole a little bit in my heart. It's just just one of the most beautiful places I've ever, I've ever seen, the most amazing views I've ever seen, you know, it's the biggest mountain range on the planet, so yeah, I've done quite a few tricks out there, most recently I did Ana Prina Base camp. Some people might be familiar with it, it's quite a popular one. For good reason because it's awesome, it's so beautiful.

08:30 - Jared Styan 

So I did Annapurna Base and Marty Hamal trek back to back. So I was out there for about nine days. Yeah, hiking through Nepal, with my friend Dilip, he's a, he's a guide. I'm there as well, so yeah, he's awesome. Definitely helped me a lot to make it through.

08:50 - Dori Durbin 

Wow, wow. And I'm assuming, same thing, you had to pack your own stuff, have your own supplies, all that.

08:59 - Jared Styan 

So we, we both had like pretty big, big backpacks, I don't know, maybe 15 to 20 liters or something like that with a lot of stuff in it. Nepal's really cool in that way though. Like they have these tea houses along the way and it's, it's pretty wild to think like the Himalayas, you think it's, it's one of the most remote places on the planet, but a, you know, hiking through there is such a cool experience because you actually can stay in this tea house. So they have, you know, tea and coffee and food there for you.

09:28 - Jared Styan 

It's like a little a restaurant in a way, and you can sit by a fire and, and eat noodles or whatever you want to eat. And you know, they have the beds there and, and they even have Wi Fi out there these days. So It's, it's a cool, it's a cool experience in that way too, because you sort of get a few of those, those creature comforts, but then you're, you're out there in this remote, you know, beautiful place. So yeah, I think it's, it's, it's worth hiking through.

09:57 - Dori Durbin 

That's amazing, that's amazing. And I think another piece of that, too, is just the fact that you appreciate nature so much. Enjoy that and, you know, share that with people after you've done it.

10:12 - Jared Styan 

Yeah, for sure I, I remember like many days on that hike, I would just, I will just sit there and like look up at the massive a mountains, just in all, you know, for like an hour or 2 h if I could. It's just it, it's hard to describe, but it's just, it's just so beautiful and I think the size as well, like it's just so, so huge, you can't get, it's hard to get your head around it. Yeah, I'm lucky to say that I'm also, I will just share, share those experiences through my, through my books, in my, in my writing.

10:43 - Jared Styan 

Yeah.

10:46 - Dori Durbin 

Did you, because you seem like a very, very positive and optimistic person, Did you have any mental battles when you were traversing both of these places?

10:57 - Jared Styan 

Of course, yeah, I'm no, I'm no Superman like anyone else. And yeah, I mean on the 1st, the 1st, the run up the volcano, there was one point which is in my, in my book actually, that I just kind of, I felt horrible, I felt really sick. Probably altitude sickness. And yeah, I just kind of sat down for a bit and I, I looked up at the where the summit was supposed to be and I was like, man, I don't know how I'm gonna do this. You know, I remember having like a some little snickers bar some gate arad and yeah, just sitting there thinking, I don't know how I'm gonna do this.

11:33 - Jared Styan 

There's a sometimes on, on mountains, there's like a the mountains kind of trick, trick your mind a little bit. You can think that, you know, the summit is just there, but And actually it's the one around. And I've been thinking that for hours. And so my mind was, you know, a little bit. I don't know, scattered and yeah, but I managed to pick myself up eventually and I just kept on hobbling along. I made it there. The Nepal trip I remember on day a, day nine or day eight for some reason was really hard.

12:05 - Jared Styan 

It was just a, really, it was just all up that day, it was really tough. It was a really long day, I think it was like 13 h of trekking or something like that and you know, and your nine days into it already. So I was really, really tired and, and felt pretty smashed at that point. So yeah, there's, there's always moments like on, on every one of these that are really tough and sometimes you feel like you want to give up, but you try not to.

12:32 - Dori Durbin 

Yeah, so for you, was it the motivation of making a goal and achieving it, or was it that you were trying to? Show other people that you could do this. Like what was your biggest motivator?

12:47 - Jared Styan 

Yeah, that's a good question. I think it's mostly for, for myself really. For me personally, like when I envision what my, I don't know what my, I want my life to, to look like or what I want it to be like, I imagine myself as a, as a kind of adventurer, you know, doing these things, getting out there and giving things to go and you know, I think giving up is not really a part of that, part of that idea that I have. So I think that's really it's, the motivation comes, comes from, from my heart really.

13:22 - Jared Styan 

I think what I was saying, you know, to you before. That. Yeah, when I was a kid I always imagined myself in that way and I've sort of carried that on through my, through my adulthood. I never want to, want to give up and never want to give up for that child version of myself either. So.

13:41 - Dori Durbin 

There's something about Indiana Jones.

13:45 - Jared Styan 

That's right. Oh, I love Indiana. James Yeah, he's awesome, I'm sure he's inspired like thousands of adventurers, I'm sure of it.

13:55 - Dori Durbin 

He's definitely one of my favorites, so I totally am right there with you for sure. So, so what was like the biggest shock after experiencing this whole thing, like what surprise. You the most about your experience?

14:12 - Jared Styan 

What surprised me the most? I think what surprised me the most, to be honest, is like just what humans are capable of, like not me necessarily, but just the human mind, like the human body. When you put it in a scenario where Ah, you know, you're sort of forced to keep on going. It will just figure out a way to continue. And yeah, there's been points where I was, I was amazed by that. I'm still amazed with, with runners that run up that volcano every year. I think it's absolutely extraordinary and yeah, I'm constantly amazed with how capable the human body is and I continue to explore that in my life.

14:54 - Dori Durbin 

But you're on limits, probably right.

14:57 - Jared Styan 

Yeah, yeah, for sure, yeah. And I find inspiration in all sorts of things that other people that are, that are doing records and mountaineering records or running and, you know, seeing where, where the humans, human spirits limit is if there is one. So yeah, I'm always amazed about that.

15:16 - Dori Durbin 

That's awesome. Well, and that kind of leads us into your book, right? Because your book, The Boy Who Ran Up a Volcano, really is meant to inspire kids.

15:27 - Jared Styan 

a hundred percent. Yeah, I guess it leads into what I was saying before, you know, part of it, like it is a sentimental thing of like, you know, I want to, inspire kids that were like me growing up, that were dreaming about Indiana Jones and all that sort of thing and thinking about what's What's beyond the school walls and that sort of thing, because that was me. So I hope kids out there, you know, can draw inspiration from it. And then, yeah, I guess the other idea was when I was, you know, doing sort of research and Googling around what kind of, if there was any books that might be similar.

15:59 - Jared Styan 

I didn't find any, so I was like, well, I think that, you know, this is, this might be a good thing for kids because there isn't really any, any books like my ones, in a sense that they are true stories, but there's also, you know, obviously it's a, it's a kid's book, so the story is sort of simple, but at the same time, you know, they are, they are real stories. So I do put that at the end. Just because I think when the kid gets to the end and they realize that it's true, I hope that they realize too, that they can do that as well, that people can do that.

16:34 - Jared Styan 

And that's the thing that kids can do that's available to them if they want to, to do that or be a runner or an adventurer or or travel around the world. Build and explore remote places. Yeah, that's really the idea behind all my books.

16:50 - Dori Durbin 

So is your character kind of based off of you and what you experienced during the races then?

16:57 - Jared Styan 

exactly the, the character is based off of me. So yeah, it was a weird experience, like working with the illustrator and she made like a cartoon version of myself. Like the 1st time I saw it was like kind of weird. But no, it's, yeah, it's all based on me obviously cause it's the, the true story. So yeah, I'm the little cartoon character in the book. But ah yeah, I don't reveal that. I reveal it at the end.

17:20 - Dori Durbin 

That's great though, cause then that gives them the opportunity to become that character for a little while and then find out that, hey, it's also you.

17:28 - Jared Styan 

Yeah, I hope so. I mean, it's not really about, about me. Yeah, I, I just want kids to be able to see themselves in the, in the character. So that's why I sort of gave a, I didn't actually give a name to the boy in the book. The boy just called the boy. So I I did that for that reason so that it was easier for kids to see themselves in the shoes off the boy.

17:51 - Dori Durbin 

Well, I know that you have the book there, so would you mind sharing 30 s with us?

17:57 - Jared Styan 

I could be a little teaser.

17:59 - Dori Durbin 

That'd be great.

18:03 - Jared Styan 

T. All over the world in search of One day he came across a city called Araki, in the south of Peru. The city was surrounded by three huge volcanoes, ch chani, Picchu Picchu, and the largest of them all, El Misti. El misti stood five thousand eight hundred and twenty two meters high just one thousand meters below the tallest volcano on earth and it looked down over the city below like a great guardian as the boy looked up at the volcano he imagined what it would be like to run all the way to the top this was his chance to become a real runner like he always dreamed he would be There's a little teaser.

18:46 - Dori Durbin 

Ah, you stop too early. No just kidding. No, that's great. So it really does follow your storyline in your experience.

18:56 - Jared Styan 

Yeah, that's funny. Even things I was, I was telling, telling you that just, it's just in the book. So yeah, it's just I wrote it from, from the story and, and from my heart. Yeah, I actually wrote it in the Covid lockdowns. So yeah, I guess that's a part of how the book came about really, like in the, the Covid lockdowns in Australia. You know, were quite long and as they were in many parts of the world and um,

19:19 - Dori Durbin 

Yep.

19:21 - Jared Styan 

yeah, I had a lot of time to just like reflect and look back at things and it, it wasn't that long after I finished the L Misty, race and all of that and moved from Peru back to Australia and stuff like that. So it was still kind of fresh in my mind. So yeah, it was, it was sort of a cathartic thing for me as well, like writing a cathartic thing for me personally and also like Yeah, looking back at everything and, and then writing it down, it just kind of, I don't know, just kind of came out at that time.

19:51 - Jared Styan 

It's funny like it came out in one writing session. It just was like, that's, I got it and it just all came out. You know, I think even though it's recounting, recounting a story, there's a, a story within the story, if that makes sense, I'm sure like writers will understand that. So that for me was the hard thing of figuring out what, what that story within the story is. But once I got it, like that was it and in one session it was, it was done, which is a pretty crazy, but it took a long time to edit it and, and get it fine tuned of course, but yeah.

20:28 - Dori Durbin 

I think you have shared this with other, like with kids and groups, have you done that?

20:34 - Jared Styan 

Yeah, I have. So my mom's actually a librarian, so yeah, she was, which is very helpful. She was able to get me into, yeah, quite a few schools. So I did, I had, it was about two weeks I think where I was, it wasn't back to back, but I had quite a lot of school visits and I loved doing that.

20:51 - Dori Durbin 

Yes.

20:53 - Jared Styan 

It was awesome. I made a, you know, a presentation that goes along with the, with the 1st book, you know, which is about running and things that had a practical element, like I got kids to actually do the plank and stuff like that and you know, to, as a competition to, you know, teaching kids, you know, what's the human body is capable of and you can do hard things. So that was my theme. And then I made a lesson around that and and went around to schools and yeah, it was really cool, I think.

21:21 - Jared Styan 

You know, for writers it's definitely a really good thing. I couldn't imagine like writing my next book and they're not, not doing that at least at least once or at least a few times just because, you see, like, you know, you're reading a book to the people who are really going to, to read it and going to be impacted by it. And I think it's just, it's an invaluable thing to, to have as a writer.

21:45 - Dori Durbin 

Isn't there, and I won't speak for you, but isn't there just almost like a magic about seeing the kids react to your book?

21:53 - Jared Styan 

Definitely like you see the, their little faces light up and stuff, you can, you can tell, like you can sort of tell when the, when the kids are really engrossed, engrossed in the book and they're really loving it and a, yeah, when their, their faces light up of, of inspiration, you know, that you've done, you've done something, something right and um, it's, yeah, it's, it's really rewarding. And like in my book, like I was saying, when the kids realize that the boys, me, they thought that was really funny, you know, like their kids, you know, they think that's funny.

22:22 - Jared Styan 

And um, yeah, I, I think for them that was, that was really cool to, for me to be there in in person and I would tell them, hey, if you want it to be like, you know, an adventurer like you can, you can do that as well, you know, I'm just, I'm just like you. I think that when I was going around, that seemed to be like a good message that kids be like, oh cool, you know, they would really like that. So yeah,

22:50 - Dori Durbin 

Maybe you'll end up with a running club out of this, too.

22:54 - Jared Styan 

Maybe a lit little five year old runner,

22:58 - Dori Durbin 

you start with small Els, not, maybe not the, the volcano, but

23:02 - Jared Styan 

maybe just a few cases.

23:04 - Dori Durbin 

There you go, there you go. I think that that'd be really fun. So If you aren't there. Giving the book to the kids, like, you know, reading to them, how would you see it bes being used by parents, like what would you love to see parents do with this book?

23:22 - Jared Styan 

I think I'd like them to, to take away a few things. I think the 1st one thing is that their kids can do hard things and that they should at least try, I think to, to do hard things, you know, just in general in the, in their life to learn what that process is like and that it's really rewarding. I think it's, it's important for kids to have that experience. So um, yeah, maybe. They can take a lott of things out of that in a practical sense, but yeah, I mean, exercise is, is, you know, obviously a really important thing for, for every human being to be happy and healthy.

23:55 - Jared Styan 

So um, I hope that's, that's one of the main things I want them to take out of it and then obviously within that is the lesson of doing hard things. So I mean even just Googling, like I don't know, little physical challenges, just little things like the, like the plank like I was mentioning before and getting the kid to be like, wow, they're strong, like you can do that I think is a powerful method. I like to take them to take that from the book. And then I think the other thing really is just how, amazing and fascinating, wonderful our, our world is as in the real world, you know, these places that I'm able to go like like Peru with the beautiful volcanoes and, and Nepal with the Himalayas and I think I'd like them to take, to take that out as well that, you know, exploring the real world is amazing and You know this, It's a big world out there.

24:47 - Jared Styan 

You can never explore all of it, and You know, I, I think that's, that's something I, I personally like quite like nonfiction books, I think, because I have that fascination with the real world and love learning about it. So yeah, I like them to take that out of it.

25:03 - Dori Durbin 

that's awesome. Yeah, And especially in the day and age where like technology is so important and so central for a lot of Kids, you know, getting excited about going outside in general or moving off of their feet for a while,

25:15 - Jared Styan 

Sure.

25:17 - Dori Durbin 

you know, like all of that is really great to be able to inspire them so.

25:23 - Jared Styan 

Definitely, I think so. I'm sure a lot of kids are a bit tooo plugged into their devices, you know, if they can see that the real world is actually really awesome, maybe that will help a little bit.

25:35 - Dori Durbin 

No, I think that's fabulous. So, speaking of next things, what is your next book about? How is that gonna, what are you looking forward to about releasing that?

25:49 - Jared Styan 

Yeah, that's a good question. Yeah, So the next book is about the Himalayas. So I did a trick in Himalayas for nine days. I did Anna Frena Base Camp and Marty Hi Mal back to back with Nepalese friend, His name's Dilip, he's a really good guide, he's a, he's a professional guide. So obviously, you know, we did it as a team. And yeah, it was an amaz amazing track. It was, it was really tough, but um, yeah, some of the most, most amazing, beautiful views I've ever seen, you know, saw every, every sunrise, every sunset on the biggest mountains on the planet.

26:24 - Jared Styan 

A It's hard to describe it, but it's, it's a magical, really a magical place. Yeah, the, the next book is basically about that. It's about the boy. The boy's next adventure is is trekking through the Himalayas and the, the point of difference I guess about the next book is that, you know, the 1st, the 1st one was about doing hard And being brave and putting yourself out there. And this, this one is, is about nature. And there's also a bit of a team element in there because I obviously couldn't do this without my friend Hip.

26:58 - Jared Styan 

The local Nepalese guide. Yeah, but really it's, it's about nature, It's about how amazing nature is and how important it is and that we need to take care of it. And I think, you know, that's for me it's also an important message, you know, like I have the privilege to go into these places, you know, but I'm lucky that they're, that they're there in the 1st place and you know, we need to take care of them. So I hope in the next one it's going to be very different. Actually, I haven't thought about how it's be, you know, when I'm there in person with the kids But yeah, the lesson will be around, you know, probably stuff like recycling and taking care of nature, it'll be along, along those lines.

27:42 - Dori Durbin 

That's awesome. And this one's a little different because it's not pros, it's, it's actually rhymes, right?

27:49 - Jared Styan 

True, yeah, So I gave myself a litle writing challenge. It's all, it's all rhymes. So yeah, that's, that's been interesting, it is, it is tough. Ah, I think just to, you know, even if something rhymes technically it doesn't necessarily mean that it, it sounds good and um, that's, yeah, that's, that can be quite hard, but you know, obviously from my book I'm someone who likes challenge myself, so yeah, it's it's a good challenge I think for, for any writer I'd recommend giving in a go.

28:19 - Jared Styan 

It's good, it's good fun.

28:21 - Dori Durbin 

You don't think that Dr. Seuss came about it just totally naturally then? Huh.

28:26 - Jared Styan 

Yeah, I doubt it.

28:29 - Dori Durbin 

might I had some help?

28:29 - Jared Styan 

He's pretty amazing, but I'm sure, yeah, I'm sure he had some tough times.

28:35 - Dori Durbin 

one other question I had for you is if somebody was looking for your book or more information about you, where is the best place for them to find you?

28:45 - Jared Styan 

Yeah, so definitely just my web. So it's just Jared Stein com, J a ed, s t y a com. So yeah, I'll have all my books on there. I have a few, like a few coloring sheets that people can print out. It's completely free, for there, from my, from my book, so they can use that it has, there's quite a few videos on there, so there's a video like of the real run of the volcano I made, like a not exactly documentary, it's just a few minutes, but it showcases the real, the real event. And I also have one about Nepal and a few others about my running and expeditions, all that sort of thing.

29:18 - Jared Styan 

So yeah, if your kid buys my book, I'd recommend to show them the video and, you know, tell them, hey, look that did that, you could do that, stuff like that.

29:29 - Dori Durbin 

That's awesome. And I also think you have a business that's tied to fitness or yeah, you wanna talk about that a little bit.

29:37 - Jared Styan 

yeah sure so it's it's sort of tied to I guess adventure basically so I I started a business s called mccary sailing tours um with my dad in twenty twenty twenty twenty one and yeah so we run sailing sailing tours on the lake near where I live here on the central coast of of Australia Yeah, about 4 h. So we teach, we teach people a little bit to sail, but it's mostly a relaxing, relaxing tour in a beautiful place on the lake. So yeah, if people are visiting, they can Google it and come on a tour.

30:09 - Dori Durbin 

That'd be fun, and maybee you can read the story. Great to them on the

30:14 - Jared Styan 

That'll be a cool experience. Yeah, maybe we can make a new tour, a reading tour on the lake.

30:19 - Dori Durbin 

Family tour. Very good. Well, one last thing, do you have any final advice for somebody who wants to write a kid's book or just really is thinking that they've had experiences that they could write a kid's book?

303:37 - Jared Styan 

I would say, you know, definitely go for it. I think it's definitely, you know, a worthwhile experience in so many ways, you know, I think it's really Like the sentimental value is invaluable, like when you actually give it to kids and you see that really, it really does have an impact. I really would recommend it really for anyone. Just give it a Give it a go and yeah, I always remember like the 1st, the 1st draft, just forget your expectations about it and just, just put pen to paper and, and, and start writing and um, and don't, don't think too much.

31:13 - Jared Styan 

I think, you know, it's, it's easy to overthink it. So I reckon just just give it a go and um, yeah.

31:20 - Dori Durbin 

Very good, very good. Well, thank you so much, Jared, for your time today. I can't wait for people to read your book and find out your whole story, and I just appreciate you taking the opportunity to talk with us.

31:33 - Jared Styan 

Yeah, thanks, had a good time. Thanks for having me on. I really appreciate it.

31:37 - Dori Durbin 

Absolutely !