Once illiterate man gets his story published

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By Kay Luna | Sunday, August 17, 2008 |

Clinton County native Bob Clausen struggled for years to hide that he didn't know how to read, and finally learned when he was 32. Now he helps other that struggle with the same problem. (Kevin E. Schmidt/QUAD-CITY TIMES) Buy this Photo

McCAUSLAND, Iowa — It’s a story of perseverance, from start to finish.

Not only did Robert John Clausen struggle to learn to read at age 32, after hiding his illiteracy for decades, but he eventually wrote a book about it.

And despite more than 10 years of rejection letters from a long list of publishing companies, he would not give up pitching that book to publishers until — finally — he succeeded.

The 59-year-old McCausland, Iowa, man’s new book, “An Illiterate in the Closet,” is set for official release Aug. 30 through the PublishAmerica publishing company. Copies are set to be sold in bookstores across the country and through major online retailers such as barnesandnoble.com, borders.com and amazon.com, PublishAmerica spokesman Shawn Street said.

“I finally got it done,” Clausen said, sounding elated. “Now, I’m an author.”

It is an amazing story of someone overcoming a huge challenge — but such success stories are more common than people might realize, said Rochelle Cassella, director of public policy and communications for ProLiteracy, the oldest and largest organization overseeing adult literacy programs in the United States.

“We believe everyone has a story to tell,” Street said. “Although we have books of various genres and storylines, many of our books feature characters, real or fictional, who overcome overwhelming odds. Mr. Clausen fits that perfectly.

“We believe his story will inspire others and give hope to those who need it.”

Even though illiteracy sometimes seems like an “invisible situation” because people with reading problems tend to hide their deficiencies so well, 90 million people in the United States are not able to read proficiently, Cassella said.

Many of those, when they overcome the obstacle, want to do something to help others crawl out of the “darkness,” as they often describe what it feels like to suffer from illiteracy, she added.

Clausen is an example of that. He serves on the board of the Bi-State Literacy Council and gives motivational talks to civic groups, businesses and educators. He also counsels those in need.

Meanwhile, he kept sending out copies of his manuscript to different publishing companies, hoping he could spread his message of hope beyond the Quad-City region.

Now that he finally has a publisher, Clausen deeply regrets losing touch with Moline resident Willetta Balla, whom he hired in 1995 to help him write his life story. She was in her 80s at the time.

When he tried to look her up recently and tell her about his success, he found out she had died.

Struggles in school

As Clausen was growing up in Clinton, his teachers called him mentally challenged and shipped him to a school for special education students that concentrated on teaching students to make potholders and plaques.

He did not learn to read until he was 32, after working years as a top manager in a local factory without anyone suspecting he was illiterate.

In 1995, he and Balla finally finished a 225-page manuscript about his plight. They, and then Clausen himself, looked for more than a decade for a company to publish the book.

In 2001, when the Quad-City Times first wrote about their project, Balla said she wrote only when she felt strongly compelled to put something down on paper. That was the case with Clausen’s story, she added. The pair worked for eight months to get his story written, and she called it “beautiful.”

The book describes how Clausen struggled in school, flunking three times before he was transferred to the former Baldwin School on Clinton’s north end. That was where special-education students were sent, he said.

At Baldwin, there was no chance for one-on-one instruction, and he never learned to read, he said.

Later, Clausen found out that all he needed were glasses and some help with dyslexia.

When he was 13, Clausen convinced his father to place him in another school. He did better there, but he still could not read and never made it to high school.

He worked at a couple of industrial plants before, at the age of 19, taking a job in a Clinton factory, which he declined to identify. He worked his way into management there despite his illiteracy.

Clausen still thinks that no one on the job suspected he could not read, but faking his reading skills “was like torture,” he said.

When he was 32, he began taking classes at Clinton Community College, where teacher Miriam Temple spent extra time with him — after his third-shift factory job — teaching him to sound out words and finally to read on his own.

Clausen was able to track down Temple, who now lives in Iowa City, to tell her about his publishing success. She still remembers her student as a very determined man.

Over the years, she has served on the Iowa Literacy Council with Clausen and watched him come out of his shell to help others. She said he always was “determined to be independent” and credits his incredible motivation for making the book happen.

Even as his teacher, Temple added, she learned more from him than she could ever teach him.

“He didn’t want to rely on other people all the time,” she said. “He couldn’t read, but he read people very well, and that’s a skill that many of us don’t have.”

IF YOU WANT A COPY

The official release of the book “An Illiterate in the Closet,” written by Robert John Clausen of McCausland, Iowa, will be Aug. 30.

That’s when the autobiography will be available in bookstores across the nation and through Internet retailers such as amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com,

borders.com and other sites. However, the book already is available through PublishAmerica’s online bookstore, which can be found at publishamerica.com. The book also can be ordered through the company by calling (301) 695-1707.

PublishAmerica is a traditional publishing company with 30,000 authors, and its goal is to encourage and promote the work of previously undiscovered writers. Like more mainstream publishers, the company pays its authors advances and royalties, makes its books available in the United States and Europe through all bookstores and never charges fees for its services. Clausen also has a Web site about his literacy efforts at showcase.netins. net/web/speakwithbob.

Kay Luna can be contacted at (563) 383-2323 or kluna@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.