Welcome to my world.
My story is written in diary format. I wrote it from June 16, 2013, to June 15, 2014. What I didn't know, as I was writing, was that I was capturing the last year of my son's life. Pat died, unexpectedly, on July 23, 2014, in a hospital psych ward. Suddenly, my diary morphed into a more poignant record than I'd anticipated, and after he died, I discovered Pat had been making regular posts on Facebook. I decided to add his comments to my own.
I like stories where I can extrapolate from the singular to the universal-that is where I can identify with a common denominator in another person's experience. One early reader of my diary said, "Your story is so relatable." That's what I hope other readers will say.
You may relate to my story if:
You have a child (children) you love more than your own life.
You have a child, who suffers from serious mental illness.
You've lost a child- no matter what age.
You're a member of the sandwich generation.
You treasure conversations with children- especially when they're your grandchildren.
Your cat or your dog is in charge of your household.
Your bones are beginning to creak.
You wake up each morning with a huge hole in your heart but you know, somehow, some way, you have to get up and put one foot in front of the other.
You enjoy reading the other side of history-about ordinary people and their daily lives.
You have a sense of humor.
You've been thinking of leaving something for your descendants-a letter, story, diary, song, painting, or poem-but you haven't gotten around to it. Maybe my diary will spur you on.
