Overcoming tragedy with book to help others
Centerville man who became orphan as teen share his experiences.
Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Jim Good of Centerville knows well. Orphaned at the age of 14, Good lost his father, Jim Good, a former Dayton Daily News business editor and columnist, to a brain tumor in 1976. His mother, Marcia, remarried soon after her husband’s death and was murdered by her new husband within a year.
“My mom remarried very suddenly,” Good said. “I think she felt the pressure of having to care for three kids on her own, and she was vulnerable.”
Good and his older sister, Gloria, and younger brother, Matt, ended up fleeing their family home in Centerville after their stepfather, who had not yet been charged with their mother’s murder, decided to sell their home and all their possessions.
“My stepfather was the type of person that my mom wouldn’t normally like,” Good said. “But he turned out to be very scary.”
Good said his stepfather took his mother to Arkansas one night and pushed her off a bridge.
“I don’t remember a lot of details about the police investigation,” Good, who with his siblings went to live with their grandparents, said. “It took 15 years before he was convicted.”
Good’s stepfather, Richard Bennett, was tried three times in the death of Marcia Good in Arkansas, according to “The Deadly Groom: An Ohio-Arkansas True Crime Saga,” a book about the case. Following conviction in the third trial, Richard Bennett was sentenced to life in prison, where he died.
Early in the case, Good and his brother, who was 12 at the time, and sister, who was 16, were struggling to get over the severe trauma of losing both parents and especially the violence involved with their mother’s death.
“We didn’t trust anymore,” Good said. “I remember feeling rejected and hopeless. It was just strange not having parents when it seemed everyone else did.”
Good graduated from Centerville High School in 1982 and went on to attend Bowling Green University, where he earned a general education degree. Though his father had been a writer with a successful journalistic career, Good said he didn’t consider following in his footsteps until he
was in his 30s. He returned to Bowling Green and earned a degree in Journalism.
“I ended up working for a community paper until they stopped publishing in 2008,” Good said. “From then on, I worked retail jobs.”
And he began to think about writing a book about his life, which he believed would resonate with others who had suffered the pain of loss.
Good published his first book, “Selected to Suffer’’ in 2010. He has revised the book, including adding content, and republished under the title “Tired of Suffering?”
“Growing up, we went to church every Sunday,” Good said. “I started off not having any faith or religion at all, especially after my parents died. But after I went back to college the second time, that changed.”
Good got his first journalism job and remembers seeing a sign in Bowersville in Green County, featuring the Rev. Norman Vincent Peale, a Protestant clergyman who is perhaps best known for his book, “The Power of Positive Thinking.”
“I started reading Peale’s books,” Good said. “And I got intohiswritingsandexpanded my own. That’s when I felt the Holy Spirit.”
Good felt he was being called to lead people to the church, and by sharing the tragedy of his childhood, he believed he could make a difference for people who were suffering and close to giving up on their lives. He wrote his book to demonstrate the power of prayer, the importance of trust, faith and patience and to help people find the ability within themselves to overcome.
Today, Good’s siblings live out of state and have their own families. Good is still hoping to have his own family one day and sees only positive things ahead in his life.
“I went through all of this so I can learn compassion and empathy for others who are hurting,” Good said.
Good admits that he has never been comfortable talking about himself and his life. News stories about his family made most everyone aware of what had happened, and he felt like an outcast.
“The great irony is that God uses people like me to help further his kingdom,” Good said.
Good founded a non-profit organization 23 years ago with a mission to provide college scholarships to young people without parents. The American Orphan Association, Inc. was a focus until 2010, when his grandmother became ill and he became her primary caretaker.
“It’s still on the back burner for now,” Good said. “But I know how hard it can be because I didn’t have any help for college. There are a lot of resources out there for orphans now.”
Good continues to write in his spare time and said he has “a stack of ideas, and I’m waiting to see where this leads.” He hopes to branch out into more Christian writing, preaching and public speaking, an area he admits will be difficult for him.
“I definitely want to help lead people to Christ,” Good said. “The worst thing you can do is give up, but God’s word provides a beacon of light in times of misery.”
Good’s book is available on Amazon.com and in local bookstores.