No Blog, Birthing a Book (May 2023)

This new moon I have no blog for you because I’m focused on birthing my book!

My book is about how my life went upside after my partner Michael broke his neck mountain biking and how I dealt with all the grief and trauma to come right side up again.

It’s entitled: Life Upside Down: Walking into the Depths of Grief and Love through Quadriplegia.

Yet, I also think it needs to have the word transformation in there somewhere.

I could send a poll and you could help me choose the title, that would be fun.

I’ve been writing this book since 2015 when I took a writing class with Lisa Jones. Yet actually one of the gifts from this whole situation is that I came to call myself a writer. Shortly after Michael’s accident I started sending updates to our community via the Lotsa Helping Hands website. I would write a quick update on Michael’s process and began to really drop in creatively through my words. My writing was not only a lifeline for our friends and family, it also helped me deal with all I was going through at the time.

Writing saved me. 

And now I am nearly done with the memoir and I’m so excited to get it out to the world.

I plan to launch it on August 27th of this year. It will be the 11th year anniversary of Michael’s accident AND our 7th year of our commitment ceremony as well. 

I will need your help to spread the word, and to support me through buying my book, writing a review (if you love it) and recommend it to everyone you know (also if you love it).

I could also use your good thoughts and prayers in the next 12 days as I hunker down and focus on getting it all written and ready for the next editing steps, etc.

My plan is to have it done by May 31st which is the date Michael and I fly back to Maine for his father’s funeral on June 3rd.

We could also use prayers for that! I especially pray that his power wheel chair arrive safely, and may we arrive safely too.

I will end by giving you something to listen to-one thing I’ve been a bit obsessed with lately is the podcast called The Emerald by Joshua Schrei. 

His podcast is unique-it’s a mix of poetry, sounds, songs, humor, and ideas. It’s unlike any other podcast. It feels like it takes you on a trip to someplace beyond this time and space.

There are many that I call favorites and I have listened to them a few times.

I highly recommend the one called How Trance States Shape the World. It reminded why I love grief ritual so much-it puts me into a trance state-the drumming, singing, and repetition. Anyways, have a listen, or listen to many other of his episodes: Listen here!

If you listen to it-get cozy and comfortable for about two hours.

And of course I’m curious to know what you think.

I hope you are all well. Stay tuned for more ways of working with me. After this book is pushed out into the world, I hope to devote more of my heart time to creating other ways of serving your grief needs.