10 | DECEMBER 15 • 2022 

OUR COMMUNITY

G

etting published can be tough. 
A new partnership, however, is 
making becoming an author a 
reality for youth in Metro Detroit who live 
in high-need neighborhoods.
As the brainchild of Andy Gutman, a 
local author, songwriter and president of 
commercial real estate company Farbman 
Group, and Brilliant Detroit, a nonprofit 
organization dedicated to helping children 
ages 0-8 be healthy and school-ready, Life 
Lessons from Brilliant Detroit spotlights the 
artwork and ideas of 19 young authors.
Released in October, the 25-page 
kid-friendly book that retails for $9.50, 
features the most important lessons that 
these children have learned, along with 
illustrations and activities for young readers 
to engage with.
All proceeds from book sales will go 
toward supporting the mission of Brilliant 
Detroit.
“I just fell in love with the work they do,
” 
explains Gutman, who has authored several 
children’s books.

BUILDING A COMMUNITY 
OF YOUNG AUTHORS
After donating proceeds from a previous 
book to Brilliant Detroit, Gutman met a 
young girl supported by the organization 
who told him she wanted to become an 
author because she read one of his books. 
“‘I want to do that one day,
’” he recalls her 
saying.
Gutman mulled over the statement and 
realized making this young girl’s dream 
— among the dreams of others — come 
true would be possible with a fun and life-
changing project.

“
As I tried to figure it out, I knew I 
believed very strongly in giving back to the 
community,
” Gutman explains. “I thought, 
‘Well, what skills do I actually have that I 
could contribute?’ Writing a book was one 
of them.
”
Gutman presented the idea to Brilliant 
Detroit, who worked with him on bringing 
it to life. 
“During COVID-19, I and a team of 
mine went down every Saturday to a house 
in Southwest Detroit [to meet with the 
children],
” he explains. “We talked about 
their big dreams, what makes them special 
and unique, and how to be kind.
”
In addition to discussing these essential 
topics, the 19 young authors — who 
range in age from 2-8 — drew pictures to 
illustrate their thoughts and feelings.
“From those pictures, we interpreted 
those and had a graphic designer that 
does my books help us bring them to life,
” 
Gutman says of the creative process.
While the youth are certainly proud of 
their work now, Gutman believes they’ll 
continue to feel the impact as they grow up.
“They will always have that as something 
they accomplished,
” he says of the book. 
“They were the authors of a children’s book, 

New children’s book spotlights the life lessons of 19 young authors in Detroit.
The Wisdom of Children

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

TOP, L TO R: A page from the book that 
illustates life lessons on kindness, inspired 
by Irene Gonzaez. Book Cover. Author Emily 
Nunez is grateful for her family.

Andy 
Gutman

