UCLA alum donates book proceeds to victims of Paris attacks

After several hours of weeping over news of the November Paris attacks, Alex Beene realized his most recent children’s book was eerily relevant in the wake of the tragedy.

Beene’s book “The Journey of the Paper Heart,” released Sept. 3, tells the story of a red paper heart that is accidentally separated from its owner in Paris. It travels to the city’s most prominent sites, only to realize Paris’ beauty means little without its owner by its side. Beene said the paper heart symbolizes the ultimate importance of human love and companionship.

Two days after the Nov. 13 attacks, Beene, a 2014 UCLA alumnus, contacted his publishers at Hilliard Press and told them he wanted to donate all the proceeds from “The Journey of the Paper Heart” to Paris attack victims and their families. Beene said the publishers agreed that this was the right thing to do.

“We can all (relate) to losing somebody in our lives and the rest of the world moves on, but it’s still very real to us,” Beene said. “I thought this was a great lasting tribute to say, ‘You’re not forgotten about.'”

Beene is familiar with the pain of losing a loved one. In 2014, his mother died unexpectedly. The two had been close and traveled together often. Beene said the two were on a Mediterranean cruise the summer before she passed away when she mentioned that she’d like their next travel destination to be Paris – a trip that was never able to happen.

“After losing Mom, I certainly felt like I had lost the most important paper heart to me,” Beene said. “Everything I do, to some degree, has her influence in it.”

Beene chose Paris as the book’s setting not only in memory of his mother, he said, but also because after a business trip to Paris three years ago, he realized the experience would have been more beautiful if he had shared it with a loved one.

Josh Sells, Beene’s friend and the photographer for “The Journey of the Paper Heart,” collaborated with Beene to develop the book’s final plot. He said he liked the idea of making the book’s main character a paper heart because it is unique and makes for intriguing photographs.

Beene said he and Sells wanted to focus more on people than places within the story.

“When you see the images of this little heart and these big buildings, you get the sense that there’s a loneliness there,” Beene said. “We wanted to create that sense of a void that needed to be filled with people.”

Mark Hilliard, Beene’s uncle and president of Hilliard Press, said he was immediately drawn to “The Journey of the Paper Heart” because it reminded him of how much his late sister and Beene enjoyed their travels together. The book also recalls the spirit of love in Paris, his favorite thing about the city.

” ‘City of Love’ is more applicable than ever – it’s just not the traditional imagery that we would think of,” Beene said. “It’s more of a love in terms of being there for somebody when they need us the most.”

When Beene and Sells traveled to Paris in March to take photographs to illustrate the book, Sells said they both enjoyed the beauty of the city’s monuments, but were even more impressed by the warmth and kindness of the city’s people.

“There’s a lot more to Paris than the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe,” Sells said.

Beene said the profits from “The Journey of the Paper Heart” will be donated to the French Red Cross, Secours Catholique-Caritas France and the French Secours Populaire, organizations he chose after an extensive Internet search. He believes they provide the most long-term support for victims and their families. Thus far, Beene said the book has raised more than $6,000.

“Loving and supporting others and being with others is so much more important than physical things, more than any monument we can build in this world,” Beene said. “Love is the key that makes everything work.”