Creative Q&A with local doctor discussing how he published his first book

WASILLA — Dr. Lynn Mickleson recently participated in a question and answer interview to discuss his first published book, “The Good News File: Hope for a Modern World.”

Q: This is the first time you’ve ever published a book?

“Yeah it’s my first book, and I want to emphasize that I am an Alaskan author. That’s important for people here in the Valley in Alaska in general.”

Q: How long have you lived in the Valley?

“I moved here in ‘94.”

Q: How did you get the idea for this book in the first place?

“The whole idea for my book started a long time ago when I was in my teens and 20s and I realized that good and bad things happen to all of us on a fairly regular basis. What I noticed is that whenever something good happened to me, like I got an ‘attaboy’ at work or got a bonus at my job, I would feel good for about 10, 15 minutes, get a little burst of dopamine in my brain. That would go away then my mind would drift back to the more painful problems in my life because that’s what usually preoccupies our minds.

Q: In the beginning, it was just little notes from my life. I called this collection ‘my good news file.’

Whenever I was having a bad day, week, month, or whatever, I’d just take something out my good news file and read it and within 10, 20 minutes I was feeling fine. Then, I started collecting inspirational stories and quotes. So, over the 50 years, my good news file is probably two or three feet thick. I had a whole lot of material. I just turned 72 recently and I’m not getting any younger, so I decided to put it all in a book… Basically, the book is all about hope, inspiration, and the power of positive thinking. Those are the three biggies. It makes a great gift to send to friends and family or anyone who needs a word of encouragement.”

Q: How long have you been working on it?

“I’ve been working on this book for almost two years now.”

Q: How does it feel to be at this point?

“It feels absolutely incredible. Do you know how many people say that they’re going to write a book and never do it? I don’t know what the exact statistics are, but I think it’s probably only about five percent. It’s been a real achievement and I’m really proud of it. The Germans have a saying that means whoever writes things down will last through history. When I’m dead and gone, if anybody wants to know who I am, they can just get my book.”

Q: What’s your main motivation for writing this book?

“It’s all about helping people.”

“The Good News File: Hope for a Modern World” is available for $19.99 for the paperback edition or $9.99 for the ebook version. For more information, visit amazon.com/Good-News-File-Modern-World/dp/1737870304.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com