That summer, she survived a cancer scare, even as she ended up surrendering her car and house. Rachel had worked on creating stories but now began “writing for my life.” Amid financial difficulties, she says, she served as her own divorce attorney. That was the beginning of the most trying of years. Rachel and her husband of 26 years - the father of Erin and Nikki - had built their life on a shared dream, she says, but then one day came a change of plans: He said he was building a new life. Then out of the blue in February 2008, she says, came the news that turned her life upside down. Her husband, who was a metals plant manager when they met, pursued a career in medicine and eventually became a public-health official in Iowa. Rachel, now 55, worked for many years as a lawyer in Michigan, outside Grand Rapids, and most of the money she made, she says, went to meeting her family’s needs, including multiple college tuitions. This, in so many ways, is the House That Dork Built. Step into the gleaming foyer of Rachel’s beautifully appointed, seven-bedroom house in Chantilly, Virginia, and it’s striking to think that just six short years ago, she had surrendered her family home. This is the story of how a mother, through fierce love and literary vision, buoyed her daughters, who had been bullied and harassed and ostracized - and how the three became the most popular of co-authors, one autograph and selfie and hug at a time. Before there was a family publishing juggernaut - more than 20 million books in print in some three dozen countries in six years - there were the years of sadness and frustration, pain and resilience. Mother and daughters value the young fans who roam school halls, because that is precisely where, years ago, the personal crucible that forged “Dork Diaries” played out. The Family Russell stayed to sign every last book. A band of students wanted a group pic, but first, Nikki issued her go-to command: “Say ‘Dorky’!” She raised the camera as the kids raised the volume, a proud “geek” chorus of “Door-keeee!”Īnd when the kids opened their signed books - any one of the eight in the series, until the ninth hits stores June 2 - they saw the same empowering inscription: “Let your inner dork shine!” Nikki stood up and was soon the one taking photos. “I like Oprah and Michelle Obama, and if I ever met them, I could hug them easily,” she said, “because I feel like I’ve already bonded with them and admire their work.”Īsk these huddles of third- through sixth-graders why they like “Dork Diaries” so much, and they’ll excitedly say it’s because of “the humor” and “the cliffhangers” and “the drama.” McNair teacher JC Thomas says a deeper reason, based on classroom feedback, is that the kids just plain relate to the adolescent characters. Rachel knows that the hug requests mean the books are a form of bonding. A former primary-school teacher, she looked comfortable being at the center of a student swarm. To her left, younger daughter and illustrator Nikki Russell, 29, leaned in for a photo. “I’ve had to learn to adjust to it at events,” said Rachel’s elder daughter and contributing writer, Erin Russell, 31. “But my friend just came back to get a picture with them,” came the reply from a girl with bouncing black braids, electronic tablet in hand. “Children, go report to dismissal,” an adult in charge said to several fans. So just like that, a three-step routine emerged. Within minutes, the hugs spread to Rachel’s two daughters, who help Mom create the best-selling kids’ series “Dork Diaries.” Nine of every 10 pupils in line were female, and within a few years, these fans will be the same age as the characters in the books. Rachel’s writing had touched them, and now many wanted to touch her. No longer would the children, in line 80-deep, settle for just autographs and bookmarks. Sitting behind a table at McNair Elementary in Herndon, Virginia, the author swiveled to the side and embraced the tween. Kids sometimes sought hugs at bookstores, but not at schools. She had rarely, if ever, experienced this with students. WASHINGTON - As the girl moved toward her, arms outstretched, Rachel Renée Russell needed a beat to react.
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