WORCESTER—Author and artist John F.K. Small just dropped his debut book, “The Small Family Legacy: A Journey of Ingenuity, Sea and Story,” a deeply researched and poetic narrative chronicling 400 years of his family’s history across New England — from early colonial settlements and lighthouse keeping to civic leadership, artistic contributions and personal reflections.
The book, now available on Amazon, arrives as Small organizes regional speaking engagements and book signings throughout Massachusetts and across New England in partnership with libraries, historical societies and independent bookstores. Early response has been enthusiastic, particularly in Provincetown and Truro — towns woven throughout the book’s multigenerational storyline.
A Worcester resident for eight years, Small lived across from Dodge Park and worked at The Hanover Insurance Group for 12 years.
“Worcester gave me the rhythm of structure and resilience,” Small said. “It was a time of quiet growth for me — balancing my artistic life with the practicality of everyday work.”
That duality — between structure and spirit, ancestry and art — runs throughout “The Small Family Legacy.” The memoir traces Small’s paternal lineage from Edward Small’s arrival in New England in 1632 through centuries of Cape Cod life, highlighting ancestors such as Isaac Small, the first lighthouse keeper of Highland Light, and Willard Stanton Small, a pioneering psychologist and early behavioral scientist who earned his Ph.D. at Clark University in Worcester.
Alongside historic records, the book incorporates original reflections, family photographs and insights into Small’s own neurodivergent lens, shaped by autism and spatial-sequence synesthesia.
“I wrote this as a bridge,” Small said. “Between the past and the present, between seen and unseen patterns. We’re shaped by those who came before us, but we each bring our own light forward.”
A lifelong visual artist, illustrator and former musician, Small has also created charcoal and pastel portraits of some of the book’s key figures, merging genealogical exploration with creative interpretation. His storytelling legacy began early — performing in school plays, writing songs in his 20s and creating artwork inspired by New England’s natural landscapes. Today, he lives by a quiet lake in central Mass. — what he lovingly calls his “Gnome Home” — where nature continues to inspire his creative path.
In addition to “The Small Family Legacy,” Small is preparing several other book releases over the next year:
- The Gnome Bear Journal (Fall 2025): A gentle, illustrated reflection book told in the voice of “Jonwell,” a bear-gnome hybrid who shares poetic musings on simplicity, nature and the rhythms of the seasons.
- The Adventures of Thomas the Lighthouse Mouse (Spring 2026): A whimsical children’s story set at Highland Lighthouse, blending fact and fiction in a tale of bravery, friendship and light.
- The Circling of Crows (Late 2026): A murder mystery in classic Agatha Christie style, featuring a neurodivergent protagonist who perceives patterns others overlook.
- Willard’s Path (TBD): A historical fiction work inspired by Small’s grandfather Willard Stanton Small, set in the 1880s and aimed at young readers.
Beyond storytelling, Small is devoted to what he calls “gentle living with the Earth and all its inhabitants.” A longtime vegan and advocate for sustainability, he produces YouTube content and writes essays encouraging mindful consumption, eco-conscious living and finding beauty in simplicity.
“The thread that ties it all together,” Small said, “is presence. Whether I’m writing about my ancestors, drawing a gnome beneath the pines, or speaking to others about their own family roots — it’s about connection, and the legacy we leave through how we live.”
