A small community event for Tom Watson’s memoir, “Your Turn,” has grown into a fundraising partnership between the author, Longfellow Books and Project Home.
Watson is the founder of Portland real estate investment, development, construction and management company Reveler Development and a 2023 Mainebiz Business Leader of the Year.
His memoir was published in March by Longfellow Communications in Portland.
On July 15, Longfellow Books in Portland hosted an author event featuring Tom Watson in conversation with Jessica James of Longfellow Communications, the book’s publisher. The event included talks by Longfellow Books owner Ari Gersen and Victoria Morales, the executive director of Project Home. The idea was to donate all proceeds of “Your Turn” at the event to the nonprofit. More than $500 was raised.
Helping low-income Mainers
Project Home, at 75 Washington Ave., is a nonprofit that helps low-income, working Mainers overcome barriers to affordable housing, prevent eviction and achieve long-term stability through financial guarantees, housing navigation and coordinated health and career support.
Going forward, 100% of the proceeds from each copy sold at Longfellow Books will be donated to Project Home,
Watson was a founding board member of Project Home when the organization was established as the Quality Housing Coalition in 2018.
“When I wrote ‘Your Turn,’ I hoped it would encourage people to think about the people who show up for them during life’s toughest moments,” said Watson. “Project Home shows up for people every single day and it has impacted the lives of thousands of Mainers. If this book can help support that work in a small way, then that’s one of the most meaningful things it can do.”
“Many of the people we serve are part of Maine’s invisible population—our neighbors whose housing challenges often go unnoticed until they are in crisis,” said Victoria Morales, executive director of Project Home. “Stable housing creates the foundation for everything else: health, employment, education, and hope.”
The book, illustrated by his daughter, Rose Watson, chronicles Watson’s journey from building a business out of the back of his pickup truck in 1990s Portland to recovering from a life-changing stroke.
