Book Launch Party

The book launch party for "Liquidating Life" was held Friday, June 7, 2013 at Dorothy B. Oven Park in Tallahassee.  This is a picture of the main room.

 

In May, I ordered 100 books to sell and give away.  I have only about a dozen left and re-ordered more yesterday.  A few weeks ago, I spoke to a writing group about the publishing process with createspace.  A retirement facility is hosting a local author round-table event later in June and I've signed up to participate.  

"Liquidating Life" is on kindle now, but the pictures didn't transfer.  It is what it is and I've sold a half dozen.

  

Many people have emailed me their "John memories" and it has been great reading them.  The book launch got people thinking about him and I appreciate their memories.  

There are 5 reader reviews on amazon.  The book's ranking fluctuates from 55,000 to 800,000 depending on how much traffic/sales/comments/activity is on the amazon page.  

This is the link to the book review in the Tallahassee Democrat:

http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013305300059

It's a book!

They're here!  100 copies of "Liquidating Life", the book I put together from this blog and emails by John and me over the time of his illness.  In another entry, I'll tell some of the trek into publishing.  The book is available on amazon.com and also on kindle.

John's 51st Birthday

Today is John's second heavenly birthday.  He would have been 51.  I took the day off, and will tomorrow, too.  His mom ordered flowers to be put at his headstone.

I went through the drive-thru at Whataburger, John's favorite place to eat.

And got a birthday cake pop at Starbucks.   

holiday happenings

Made it through the second holiday season.  It started back in November when I purchased an ornament for the Walk for Life Christmas tree downtown.  You could write/draw on a purple ball and hang it on the tree as a fund raiser for the group.  I brought mine home this week.  It was still hanging and not too worse for wear after being outside for two months.

Thanksgiving was with my sister's in-law family again and it was enjoyable.

Christmas Eve day was with them also, then I spent the night with my sister's family.  Later Christmas day we went to my parents' and spent the night.  Fun and relaxing.  

Worked on my book a lot over the holiday break.  Had a cute teacher story in the paper today.  I'm now the leader of our local writers group.  It's been a busy writing time for me lately.  

January, 2012

Individual Hospice counseling has been priceless.  Everything I'm feeling is normal, even when my emotions are all over the map.  I'm naturally a problem solver and have worked through the "why I'm reacting like this" fairly well.  It's time for the 6-week group counseling.


I found myself more depressed when I left group than when I arrived.  It was overwhelming hearing so many experiences.  But I promised my counselor I would do this, so each week I went and each week I handled it better.  The topics we covered were helpful and a lot of it we talked about in my individual sessions.  It was important to hear it again, though.  We participated in art and music activities.  By the potluck dinner final session, I was finally looking forward to our meetings and didn't want them to end yet.  Mama made John's favorite chicken pot pie for the potluck.


A couple of other ladies in our group, young like me, had lost their husbands.  It was comforting to hear they hadn't been able to get rid of items belonging to their spouse, too.  


Each person's grief is different, never stops, and it's okay.  Mentally, I can't handle as much as before.  I never know when I'll be overcome with emotion.  Feelings and reactions are magnified.  I can spend a day on the couch if I need to, but I can't stay there.  Now that I'm coming out of the "shock" of John's death, It's getting harder because I'm feeling.  It was months before I could go to a large store or church without feeling panic from being around so many people.  I have limits.  I want to hear others talk about John.  I have no regrets.  It takes a lot of energy to grieve.  


I had one more individual counseling session for personal closure after the group sessions ended.  I could NOT have made it this far, sane, and in one piece without this service from Hospice.  

Christmas, 2011

I spent Christmas Eve night with my sister's family as I have since Marshall was small, except for last year.  It was sad to be without John but fun to be back experiencing the excitement of that special morning.  The rest of the holiday was much as usual; time at my parents' opening gifts, and eating.  My thoughts frequently went back to last Christmas and John sitting in the recliner with the headband holding his bandage in place, snow, and an awful headache the next day.  Has it really been a year??

November 25, 2011 first Thanksgiving

The firsts without a loved one are tough.  And there are so many.  Thanksgiving would be an especially obvious John-void because he could put away some food.  And my mother can sure cook it.  This year, my sister's in-law family invited our family for lunch.  Again, it helped to celebrate a tradition in a new way rather than with one less chair around our usual table.  We had a fest and watched football and lay around for the afternoon.