Lone Star Library: Sequel to 'Same Kind of Different as Me'

What Difference Do it Make? by Ron Hall, Denver Moore and Lynn Vincent (Thomas Nelson, September 2009)

To put it mildly, it’s difficult to follow a classic.

And make no mistake, Same Kind of Different as Me, published in June 2006, has proven to be a classic of inspirational literature, even though the book breaks the conventions of that genre regularly.

It is also still selling, having spent 80 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list as of the end of September. In Fort Worth, where much of Same Kind takes place, the book has proven extremely popular and the two authors often make area appearances. On Oct. 5, Hollywood producer Mark Clayman confirmed that Pulp Fiction star Samuel L. Jackson has signed to star as Denver Moore in a film adaption of the book. As a side note, the third author, Lynn Vincent, has been in the news as well. She has been hired as the ghostwriter for the Sarah Palin memoir, Going Rogue.

With that kind of success, it’s little surprise that the authors of Same Kind have opted to produce a follow up. What Difference Do It Make? is the result and while it doesn’t have the narrative strength or emotional force of the previous book, it does recapture much of the inspiration and charm  of Same Kind.

For those unfamiliar with Same Kind, the book tells the story of a homeless man, Moore, who meets Ron Hall, a self-made millionaire, at the Union Gospel Mission in Fort Worth. The two form a bond just as Hall’s wife, Deborah Hall, is dying of cancer. A new chapel at the Union Gospel Mission is named after Deborah Hall and Moore is now on the Mission’s board of directors. 

The new book primarily follows Hall and Moore in their life after the publication of Same Kind.  Like the previous book, Moore and Hall write their own chapters. It also follows Hall as he deals with his father’s final days. Interspersed throughout the book are stories of people who have been impacted by reading Same Kind. Some of those stories are more entertaining and enlightening than others, but they do give testimony to the power of the original book. The story titled, “Darlene, Skid Row Samaritan,” for instance, tells of a woman who sees a man lying unconscious by the side of a street where homeless people congregate. Darlene is about to drive by, but then – thinking of Denver Moore – she decides to stop. She finds, not a homeless drunk as she suspected, but a man having a heart attack.

Also in the book are examples of Denver Moore’s artwork, which resembles the primitive style of Howard Finster, though decidedly more upbeat.

It’s doubtful What Difference will have quite the impact of Same Kind and be optioned for the Hollywood treatment; it comes across more as a long, loving and soulful letter from old and dear friends. And there is certainly nothing wrong with that.

– Robert Francis#