The book was written when I was between jobs, and finally had some time to myself. My kids were grown and on their own, and I was considering a move back to Kalispell. I thought to myself, "If I don't do it now, it may never happen." So I sat down with my laptop and hammered out my story, just as I remember it. I even resourced the old "accident" file I had never read. It moved with me from Southern California to Eugene, then to Lynden, Washington, and finally to Boise, Idaho where a good portion of my story was written.
The file included the actual accident report from 1991, when I sustained my Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI.) I say "mine" because all TBIs are different, and there came a time when I had to accept the aftereffects, and do my best with its implications. From Boise, the file, the book and I moved home to Montana, and I continued to work on it (add things, continue, or just polish what I've written,) on and off, for several years. Then, I married again, applied for disability and quit working my daily job. I kept coaching, but in my spare time I began to blog.
Blogging works well for me because I love to write, proof read, edit, and finish a piece, all in a short time period. (That probably has to do with my short term memory difficulties.) I even posted some chapters of my book, when plagued with those What-should-I-write-abouts.
You see my problem? I have a very hard time telling a story without including all the little quirky tidbits, and then I lose track of what I was saying.
Kelly read my story, a couple of times even, and sent it back with suggestions and comments. It was like turning in a paper you put a lot of effort into, and getting an A, along with those real nice comments that make you feel extra special. But, the teacher was Kelly. Not just Kelly-my-friend-from-high school, she was Kelly-the-published-author!
Yes, I have started using her suggestions and comments to resurrect my book, but it comes at a price. I am not able to blog as much.
