Dear First name / friend,
The moment my mom left this world, there was never really a question of whether or not I would pen her unwritten book, The Other Side of the Straight Jacket. The premise of her book was straightforward: as a psychiatric nurse, she possessed an intimate understanding of her patients' lives and a profound insight into the complexities of mental illness.
Years after she first told me about her publishing dream, and as I witnessed her diminishing hope as her own mental health deteriorated following a traumatic brain injury, I recalled the valuable lesson she had imparted throughout my life –
To find a positive perspective even in the face of adversity.
With this mindset, I broached the subject a few weeks before her passing, hoping to spark something within her. "What a unique perspective you have now, not only as a professional observing from within but also from the other side,” I delicately said. She smiled and replied, “The Book.”
Heartbreakingly, two weeks after our conversation, she left this world, leaving me grappling with the realization that her book was meant to be her legacy –
A torch now passed to me.
A year later, armed with a signed publishing contract and the foundation for her story, I faced a daunting question:
Where do I begin?
Enter Ana, Chief Communications Officer from The Self Publishing Agency. Our initial conversation involved an intense and rapid exchange of ideas, from which she deftly extracted the starting point for MY story – not my mother's, but the essence of how her narrative was to intertwine with mine.
With the path now laid out for me, I recalled the wisdom of Lao Tzo, who said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
I embraced the realization that I was finally embarking on a journey of my own.
