‘Dear Solomon’ author opts to save readers from financial ‘cringing’

A set of 19 books showed up 11 a.m. Friday to Inklings Bookstore in Holyoke, along with their author, Pastor Al Smith of First Baptist Church. Soon, a resident arrived to chat and, leaning forward with a pen, Smith signed the first copy. Now, there were 18 left.

Smith published the book, “Dear Solomon, My Finances Are a Mess,” in September 2019, one year before he moved to Holyoke from the Colorado mountains – partially to escape the elevation and its effects on his and his wife’s health. In that time, Smith had seen his work rise momentarily among the top 10 in “Christian Wisdom Literature,” according to Amazon rankings, and expressed happiness at seeing them help others dig out of a financial rut.

“Dear Solomon” in the book’s title – and in Smith’s column in The Holyoke Enterprise – is a play on the world-famous “Dear Abby” advice columns. In place of “Abby,” Smith sets King Solomon of ancient Israel, stated by the Book of Kings to have been a man “wiser than anyone” with “the deepest of understanding and the largest of hearts.” 1 Kings attributes 3,000 proverbs to Solomon, along with 1,005 songs.

“That stuck in my head,” Smith said in reference to ‘Dear Abby.’ “What about ‘Dear Solomon? What if I wanted advice from the wisest man in the world?’”

A year before the event, he and Inklings owner Brittany Daniel considered a book signing for “Dear Solomon” at her store, but the idea fell by the wayside. After Daniel sent mailers to area churches, however, offering space for Bible studies, he gave her a call.

“I’m guessing [the mailers] re-put me on his brain,” Daniel said. “So he reached out and said he’d love to come do a signing.”

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