CHARLTON — As part of her and her sister’s efforts raising money for the Pan-Mass Challenge and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 16-year-old Clara Dowdle of Charlton wrote a children’s book inspired by the annual PMC bike ride.
Along with their friends, Jenna and Sarah Miller, the Dowdle sisters have been supporting cancer treatment and research at Dana-Farber by selling flowers right out of their parents’ yards, candles and homemade jewelry. The bike-loving friends even gave themselves the playful name “Daughters of Anarchy.”
Clara said she’s always wanted to write a children’s book, it was just a matter of what it would be about. Since she and her sister have dedicated time, year after year, to raising money for the PMC, Clara figured a story about the bike ride made sense.
Her book, “Dragonfly Magic,” results from her conversations with riders at previous PMC bike rides when she was not old enough to ride.
“There were so many people with dragonfly necklaces and dragonfly tattoos and I asked my mom, Why? Why are there so many dragonflies?” Clara said. “So we started talking to people about it and they all had some experience where a loved one passes away who loved dragonflies, or a dragonfly showed up and reminded them of that person. They all had really good experiences, which is what motivated me to write about dragonflies in the book.”
Clara’s father also had an experience with a dragonfly on his bike during a ride that he said motivated him to keep going, she said. Her father, a high school teacher, lost a student to cancer, which is why he started riding.
“I’ve always had ideas of what I wanted to write about. I’d say, for now, I’d been thinking about what I wanted to write about (like the dragonflies) for half a year,” Clara said. “It took me about a month to write it because the actual story is based on experiences of talking to people about dragonflies.”
This is Clara’s first time riding in the PMC. Her father, she said, is planning on riding the PMC track soon but has been busy with work.
“It’s kind of nerve-wracking because I’m going to ride around 111 miles, it’s kind of overwhelming to think about,” Clara said. “But I’ve been training. I’m excited, the nerves are good. Riding my bike will be helping a lot of people.”
The aim of her book, she said, is to show children, as well as adults, how they can undertake charitable endeavors. “Dragonfly Magic” also seeks to show children how to appreciate kindness and the continuity of life. All sales go toward the PMC.
“It’s a story about helping others in the PMC. I’m really proud of it,” Clara said. “It’s supposed to give a message to others that it’s good to fundraise and to help others.”
This year’s PMC is Aug. 3 and 4.
