For several years I have been working on a book about caring for my mother during the last ten years of her life. For most of that time, the manuscript lay dormant in a file on my PC. I was afraid to finish it. What if no one liked it? Even worse, what if someone disliked it? Publishing a book which contained stories that were so real and raw for me was scary. Like naked-in-public scary. But then after a particularly challenging day with Mom, I decided that my stories and the lessons contained therein could help others in a caregiving role. In fact, some of the life lessons were applicable to a much broader audience. So I took a leap of faith. I finished the book. I published it. It hit the airwaves via Amazon.com this week. It's called Trading Places: Becoming My Mother's Mother - A Daughter's Memoir.
So was it easy? No. I felt like I had opened a portal into my life that left me exposed. But I cared enough to risk it. My friend Chuck Boudreau told me. "You have dared greatly."
Chuck also told me, "Sandra, what you have done is remarkable. You’ve actually made the effort to coalesce your best thinking into something meant to speak to people who are on their own journey with caring for an elderly parent. The compassion and well-meaning good intentions behind your writing is so incredibly rare and very, very special. You need to know that. Really. It takes courage to do this kind of work. Sometimes we don’t know exactly how much courage until we start getting negative feedback. Somehow, it seems to speak to our deepest doubt regarding the significance of our story and what we have to offer. Dismiss this voice of diminishment."
Those were words I needed to hear. What are the words you need to hear to take your leap of faith? What do you dare to accomplish "if only..."? Care enough to dare greatly. Take your leap.
So was it easy? No. I felt like I had opened a portal into my life that left me exposed. But I cared enough to risk it. My friend Chuck Boudreau told me. "You have dared greatly."
Chuck also told me, "Sandra, what you have done is remarkable. You’ve actually made the effort to coalesce your best thinking into something meant to speak to people who are on their own journey with caring for an elderly parent. The compassion and well-meaning good intentions behind your writing is so incredibly rare and very, very special. You need to know that. Really. It takes courage to do this kind of work. Sometimes we don’t know exactly how much courage until we start getting negative feedback. Somehow, it seems to speak to our deepest doubt regarding the significance of our story and what we have to offer. Dismiss this voice of diminishment."
Those were words I needed to hear. What are the words you need to hear to take your leap of faith? What do you dare to accomplish "if only..."? Care enough to dare greatly. Take your leap.
