Hello and welcome!
A message from Patty
Welcome to the first edition of our new Dear Jacob newsletter! Joy and I are excited to use this new online publication to share news and updates about the October 17th release of my new memoir: Dear Jacob: A Mother’s Journey of Hope.
The Minnesota Historical Society Press has a fabulous team working to get the word out through book signings and events, as well as local and national press. We will post these as they develop, and we hope you’ll share with others!
Our first big event will be on Saturday, October 14th at the 8th annual “Running HOME for Jacob Run/Walk” at Lake Phelan Regional Park in St. Paul. Event organizers at the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center (JWRC), together with Next Chapter Booksellers in St. Paul, will be hosting a pre-release book signing for us at this year’s race. Books will be available for purchase at the event, and Joy and I will be donating all proceeds to JWRC.
HOME stands for "Hope for Our Missing and Exploited.” You can register for either the 5K or 11K event, and you can participate virtually from your own hometown, or in-person with us at Lake Phalen. There’s also a children’s 1.1K race that takes place at 9:45 AM, prior to the 5K.
At the inaugural “Running HOME for Jacob” event in 2016 (the year Jacob was found), over 2,000 people crossed the finish line in support of our family and JWRC. This huge response brought me to tears, and now – after three years of virtual-only events – we're all looking forward to seeing everyone in person again!
Please join us in sharing the hope. The early bird deadline has been extended to September 1st, so please register today at https://raceroster.com/events/2023/72145/2023-running-home-for-jacob-hybrid-runwalk.
—Patty Wetterling
A message from Joy
Back in November, I convinced a very reluctant Patty Wetterling to start a new Facebook page so she could connect with her legions of loyal fans. To the surprise of no one (except her), the page quickly grew to over 9,400 followers, and on April 21st, a post about Patty and Jerry’s 50th wedding anniversary went absolutely bonkers, with over 38,000 likes, 8,800 comments and 576 shares. Clearly, people all over Minnesota and beyond love this woman who has worked so hard to change laws and keep all our children safe.
Patty has been a real social media trooper, but knowing not everyone is on Facebook, I worried she wasn’t reaching some of the people who wanted to hear from her the most.
That’s why we started this Dear Jacob newsletter. With this direct online medium, we hope to share updates about the book, a schedule of upcoming author events, and personal reflections from both Patty and me.
As you can imagine, writing Jacob’s story was a long process that took its toll both mentally and emotionally. It is an absolute labor of love, and in true Patty Wetterling fashion, she wore her heart on her sleeve throughout this story, telling it in the most raw and real way imaginable.
We can’t wait to share the story with you, and we hope you’ll continue to follow us on this very long and winding journey!
—Joy Baker
Upcoming Author Events
For an updated list of all our author talks and book signings, please visit our Events page.
Dear Jacob: A Mother’s Journey of Hope is now available for pre-order from your favorite bookseller, online retailer, or local library. Here are a few links to get you started:
Congrats you two!! Big moment. 👏👏