STUTTGART, Germany -- Bradlee Potter first conceived an idea for his children's story while on a family trip in Arizona. Four years later, the 16-year-old Stuttgart High School sophomore and son of a Soldier was invited to host a community storytime with his book April 12, sitting alongside U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart's senior enlisted leader as a published author.
“A Dog’s Trail: Adventures Around the World” was the latest selection in a series of ‘sensory readings’ hosted by the U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) and certainly fit the bill for an event taking place during the Month of the Military Child.
It describes the journey of a Dalmatian puppy named Spot who is adopted by a firefighter but gets lost during their first mission together. Her way home ends up taking her across the world as she meets new friends and tries new food and experiences.
“To me, it was originally just a fun story,” Bradlee said. “I’ve always liked dogs, I’ve always been traveling since my dad’s in the military, and I’d been thinking about writing a book for a long time, so I kind of just put them together.”
The idea of a sixth grader drafting a manuscript didn’t come as a shock to his parents. His mom, Brittany Potter, described his knack for storytelling as well-established even then.
“From a young age, he would always come up with these drawn out, elaborate stories with so much detail,” she said. “He just has an incredible imagination.”
Bradlee received support from family and friends throughout the writing process but singled out his grandfather’s encouragement and advice as critical to helping him follow through.
With some refinement over time and the addition of new material based on more recent experiences, his chapter book for young readers was ultimately published last year.
Now older and wiser, Bradlee has come to realize that his tale might have a more meaningful angle that could simply entertain — one that could even bring comfort to others like him.
“It’s surprisingly relatable to a military child’s life, like always having to move to new places and meet new people, then having to leave them and only getting to stay there for a short time,” he said. “Then you eventually find your place that you think of as ‘home.’”
His mom didn’t necessarily find those parallels surprising, having earlier noticed the similarities between Spot’s journey and the mobile, ever-changing lifestyle Bradlee had come to regard as normal.
“Spot talks about missing family and friends, but also making new ones and trying out all these different things you maybe couldn’t have, had you not gone on these adventures,” Brittany said. “I think it was more of an unconscious thing to him at first, but I feel like that’s kind of what military kids experience and something they can relate to.”
Her own upbringing was markedly different, living in the same house in the same town until she was 18. Back then, the idea of her best friend moving away would have been devastating, she said, but she sees an incredible level of resilience in how military children can accept and cope with similar situations on a more regular basis.
“I just think my kids are a lot stronger than I was at that age,” she concluded.
Joy Ashley, the EFMP coordinator, organized the event and reached out to Brittany after learning about Bradlee's book through social media. She also invited Command Sgt. Maj. Denice Malave to take part.
“Reading with Bradlee was a wonderful experience, and I was truly impressed with the book,” Malave said. “It says a lot that he would take the time to write a story that a kid could feel familiar with and give that to the kids and parents of the community.”
She recognized his contribution with a garrison command coin that Bradlee could admire for only a moment before the children in attendance sheepishly began approaching his table for autographs.
“Chase your dreams,” he scribbled on the title page of each book, just above his signature.
While he enjoys writing, Bradlee said he considers it purely a hobby for the time being, not yet a college or career aspiration. He’s nevertheless putting the finishing touches on a mystery novel for older audiences, which aligns more closely with his personal reading preferences.
As he develops his skills further, he continues to draw inspiration from the themes of his own stories, especially the importance of cherishing the present — a key takeaway from “A Dog’s Trail.”
And for the rest of his time in Germany, until he's whisked off to join his family’s next adventure, he intends to do just that.
| Date Taken: | 04.26.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 12.23.2024 12:46 |
| Story ID: | 488237 |
| Location: | STUTTGART, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, DE |
| Web Views: | 19 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, USAG Stuttgart student's book captures spirit of military childhood, by Bardia Khajenoori, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
