Bestselling author Brad Meltzer, 54, is used to giving speeches, but one he delivered in May 2024 was different. He stood on the stage at the University of Michigan addressing graduates and their families, but he had his eyes on one student — his son — the entire time.
“I stand here today not only as a proud Michigan alumnus but also as a prouder parent of one of the graduates. And when I told my son Jonas that I was going to be today’s graduation speaker, his reaction was the same as many of you: ‘You?! Not Tom Brady?’”
All jokes aside, Meltzer was an obvious choice for his alma mater. He is a well-known writer — the author of 55 books spanning fiction, nonfiction, children’s literature, thrillers, history and comic books — and he created the WB series “Jack & Bobby.” Moreover, he is an excellent speaker.
His speech included four important pieces of advice — or as he called them, magic tricks — for life for his son and the other graduating students. They included:
• Making something appear: Bringing out the best version of yourself.
• Making something disappear: Using your fear as fuel rather than letting it hold you back.
• Switching two things: Emphasizing empathy by stepping into someone else’s shoes.
• Transforming one thing into something else: Embracing continuous change and transformation in your life.
Once he finished his speech, 70,000 people in the stadium erupted in cheers. Even the pro-Palestinian protesters, who just minutes before had been chanting “Free-Free-Palestine,” stopped their demonstrations. “Just eight minutes before the speech it was all a disaster, the Palestinian protesters had marched down half the field and we thought they were going to come on stage. The clouds were overcast,” Meltzer told The Journal.
“But then, security pushed the protesters back, the clouds had parted above and the sun came out. My sister took a picture of the clouds parting and texted me a picture and wrote: ‘Mom and dad are looking out for you.’
In his speech, Meltzer said that cruelty, venom and harsh judgment toward those we disagree with had become a sport in our culture. He spoke about the importance of empathy and kindness.
Meltzer was pleased but also surprised by the audience’s reaction to his speech — they were clearly moved. “It was later that I talked to my wife and asked, ‘What was that?’ and she said, ‘You struck a nerve you didn’t know was there.’ I was bombarded with requests for the speech, including from people I didn’t know. I’ve been doing this for 25 years, but nobody had ever asked me for the text of my speech,” he said.
A few days later, he started receiving calls from publishers who said they would like him to turn it into a book.
“I was shocked because it was never meant to be a book. I never anticipated it,” said Meltzer. “People started sharing it, even Katie Couric and Maria Shriver — I don’t even know these people … When I was writing the speech, I was struggling to figure out what each magic trick should be and my wife finally said to me, ‘Just give your kids the best advice you have,’ and I was done. That was the answer.”
The book, “Make Magic,” came out in early March and is an inspirational read that instills the importance of empathy and kindness through one “magic trick” at a time. Meltzer emphasizes that cruelty and venom aren’t signs of strength — they’re signs of weakness and petty insecurity. Consulted by top social scientists like Adam Grant, Simon Sinek, Tim Urban and others, “Make Magic” is a feel-good read that bridges the gap in an increasingly divided world.
When asked about his favorite trick, he pointed to the third one, empathy.
“The world is starving for empathy right now,” he said. “But I do think the most important one is the first: you have to make the best version of yourself.”
The hardest trick of all, he said, is the fourth, transforming oneself. “I just think we get set in our old ways, especially as we grow older. A friend once told me, ‘When you get set in your own way, you start believing that everything you think is right.”
“The person who thinks they’re the smartest in the room isn’t the smartest in the room. The most sophisticated people I know are the ones who understand there’s always more to learn. But it’s hard. We don’t want to change. We always want to believe we’re right.”
After the commencement, Meltzer met with his son and his friends, and was greeted with cheers.
“I don’t remember what he said — I just remember jumping into his arms. It was such a magical moment. Someone took our picture and it’s one of my favorite pictures ever taken. It was a magic trick in real time.”
This is Meltzer’s most personal book, filled with stories he had never shared before. “I think it’s me being the most vulnerable. I told the story about my family living in a condominium in Florida with my grandparents because we couldn’t afford to live anywhere else … All those other books, I loved working on them, but this one is for my children. It was something special.”
On May 6, Meltzer will publish another children’s book, “We Are the Beatles.” Born out of his love for history and his desire to give his own children real heroes to look up to, Meltzer has highlighted notable historical figures from around the world, including Walt Disney, Dolly Parton, Frida Kahlo, Gandhi, Anne Frank and many others. By showcasing what these inspiring individuals were like as children, he hopes to help young readers recognize the qualities that made them great and see their own potential to achieve greatness.
“When I saw the rise in antisemitism a few years back I wrote, ‘I Am Anne Frank,’ and I thought it can’t get any worse than that, and of course it did,” Meltzer said. “I’ve done work with the ADL and an event with them. They’ve been using my book to fight back against the antisemitism we’re seeing today. We all fight back in our own ways. I’m trying to do it with stories.”
Meltzer admitted to having a difficult relationship with his parents. If he could give his younger self a piece of advice, it would be: “Take it easier on my parents.” He added, “I had a complicated relationship with my dad and it created a lot of heartache, strife, worry and Jewish guilt. We all experience shortcomings in our relationships, whether with parents or friends, but when you surround yourself with people who accept the real version of you, people who lift you up, it unlocks something in you. Finding those people in my life who said, ‘You can be a writer,’ ‘You’re not going to have your father’s life’ — that changed my life. And that’s self-love.”
The path to becoming a best-seller novelist wasn’t always easy. Meltzer recalled how his second book had done terribly, and he was worried he would never find another publisher and that it was the end of his career.
“I called my mother and she said, ‘I’d love you even if you were a garbage man.’ She wasn’t taking a crack on garbage men, my uncle was one, but it was the ultimate Jewish mother comment which is ‘I love you no matter what.’”
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