Book Update

I'm making some small steps on my book. I created a schedule of to-dos that focuses on drafting a chapter list and descriptions, completing market research and writhing things like the dusk jacket author bio. The good news is there aren't many books out there on postpartum depression, particularly in the Christian publishing world. If you know of any, send them my way. I hope the lack of books on this topic will make it a bit easier to get my own book published while filling a need.

So, hold me accountable because these various items are due Aug. 12. After that, I'll work on getting an agent and actually putting together some chapters (which now consist of a hodge-podge of notes and musings).

Note, the photo is the cover of the notebook I'm using to track ideas, notes, tasks, etc. for my book so look for that image in book updates. (And thanks, Ronda, for the fabulous notebook!) 

A Fitting Farewell

I couldn’t help but feel a little envious when I read a column in today’s newspaper. It was by long-time newspaperman Ken Burger, who is retiring from the local paper, The Post and Courier. His farewell column published today.  In it, he describes his first experience with the newspaper world and the intoxicating feel of the newsroom.

He shares some of the people he’s met – both famous and not – and some of the moments he’s captured – both monumental and not. He says, for him, the newspaper business was “love at first sight.” It was for me too, Ken. Oh how I loved the hum of a newspaper – the click of keyboards, the ringing of phones, the crackle of the police scanner. I loved seeing my byline in print, knowing I was part of something important and feeling that I was making a difference.

Journalists share a sense of duty, a belief they have been called to be the watchdogs of the world, the messengers of information and the voice of the voiceless.

Burger spent 40 years in the news business. I spent just 10 before the world turned the newspaper business on its ear. The newspaper world I dreamed of doesn’t really exist anymore and it’s sad. People like Ken Burger are a dying breed and even those of us who longed to write a farewell column after 40 or more years in the industry have found there’s not a place for us.   

Oprah's lesson

Photo/Oprah.com

It may sound cliché, but Oprah has always been one of those “people I’d like to meet” – right up there with Dolly Parton, Reese Witherspoon and a whole host of country music performers. As the world watched Oprah’s last show, we’ve seen the many ways Oprah has impacted lives and the amazing reach of her influence.

Because it was on at 4 p.m., I wasn’t a regular Oprah viewer, really only catching episodes when I was home sick, home with a newborn or working from home and needed a 10-minute break. Yet, I have followed her career and I respect Oprah immensely. I admire anyone who can overcome difficult circumstances to make something of herself. So many people blame their troubles on a rough childhood, growing up without a father, poverty or a lack of role models in their immediate family. Do circumstances make a difference? Of course. They may make your life’s road a little more bumpy or silky smooth, but the course is still yours to take.

I read this quote from Oprah in the May issue of “O” magazine as she summed up what she says is the essence of what she’s tried to say with the show over 25 years:

You are not the product of your circumstances. You are a composite of all the things you believe, and all the places you believe you can go. Your past does not define you. You can step out of your history and create a new day for yourself. Even if the entire culture is saying, “You can’t.” Even if every single possible bad thing that can happen to you does. You can keep going forward.

Daring to ask God for the impossible

I recently completed the book “Sun Stand Still” by Steven Furtick. Go get a copy…now. It’s a tremendous book that spoke to me at just the right time. Furtick is a pastor in Charlotte who has preached at our church a few times. He’s a young guy with a great message and a passion for God. I love hearing him speak and when they sold his book at our church, I snatched up a copy. But like so many of the books I buy, it sat on the nightstand for months.

So when I started a women’s study at my church earlier this year, and one of the classes was studying this book, I knew I had to join that group. The premise of the book is “what happens when you dare to ask God for the impossible.” It’s about asking God to do something really big in your life – something audacious and seemingly impossible.

For the last year or so, I’ve been chipping away at an idea for a book on postpartum depression. I felt maybe I could help others who had gone through PPD and that surely my suffering with that illness could have a larger purpose. I have only found one book on PPD that takes a Christian perspective so I thought there could be a market for this kind of resource.

During one of the first group sessions, we shared our visions. I was hesitant to share mine, but did. Several women in the group nodded in understanding when I said I’d suffered from PPD and then talked about my desire to write a book on the experience.

A young mother approached me the next week and told me her feelings of PPD and a few days later we met for coffee. She encouraged me to work on the book and offered her support. We shared our experiences with PPD. I love when God lines up experiences, putting us in just the right place at just the right time with just the right people.

I’ve been struggling with finding the time to work on the book. In truth, I think it may be less about making the time and more about the fear of such an undertaking. But I’ve finished reading the last couple chapters of “Sun Stand Still” and continue to believe this is God’s desire for me, so I’m renewing my commitment to this project and carving out some dedicated time to work on it. So, hold me accountable on my progress. Give me a nudge. Say a prayer for me. Here I go …. 

Our tiny dancer

We enrolled Kate in dance classes in February and she had her first recital on May 15. She did a great job remembering her dance steps and didn't seem a bit afraid of performing. Clint and I were so proud!

Forty Under 40 recap

Finally getting around to posting some photos from the Forty Under 40 event earlier this month. It was a terrific event and I was honored to be among some incredible young community leaders. Read all the winner profiles (my profile) or check out some more photos from the event.

With my Step Ahead co-workers, Laura and Bailey.

A big day

Today -- aside from being my 35th birthday -- is the Forty Under 40 event. I like to think of it as a big birthday bash all about me. Ha! Take a look at my profile on the Charleston Regional Business Journal website and I'll be sure to post some additional photos.

I also have no idea how I could possibly be 35. In my mind, I'm only 26.