Throughout my entire life, I have always enjoyed creative writing and public speaking. As a species, I believe that we write because we have a need to tell our stories and connect with people. During 2005-2006, I began writing my book, “Farewell, My Friend”, which chronicles the illness and death of my husband. I have always been an extremely organized person and used this skill to manage all aspects of my husband’s care.
During his illness, many people approached me from different segments of life regarding the unique care I was providing for my husband. They all told me that they wouldn’t have a clue as to what to do if they were caregivers in my position. Having received so many similar comments, I decided to write a book that would walk the reader through the necessary steps in developing their end-of-life plans, becoming their own healthcare advocate, navigating through the diagnoses of a serious illness and eventually coping with the death and bereavement of a loved one.
My book differs from others because it contains checklists and is laced with many humorous antidotes. My readers spend as much time laughing as they do wiping away a tear or two. Writing is a passion of mine and I feel that I have a lot to say on many topics. I have an innate drive to help others. I have been blessed to live 50+ years. I have done a lot…seen a lot…and want to share my insight with others. We all should set a personal goal to leave this world with less emotional noise than we currently have in our lives.
My current television show, Bea-On Bereavement – The Power of Planning, is about the management of life’s obstacles. Some of the areas covered are legal matters, healthier life styles, maintaining good mental health, caregiving; and death/bereavement. The show also offers spotlights on other faith and religions. Regardless of your faith, you will have to deal with many of these obstacles. I am amazed at how writing this book continually opens up many new doors for me. There is a definite need in our society to address caregiving and end-of-life issues. During my presentation, I create environments in which people are comfortable to open up and discuss issues seldom discussed in our society.
When I began to write my book, I had a vision of helping caregivers with my insights. Of course, I knew that I would sell about a million books the first year because everyone would want to know how to deal with this subject. To date, I have not sold a million copies, but the number I have sold to caregivers and potential caregivers have definitely accomplished my goal of helping people deal with this rather daunting subject.
My book, “Farewell, My Friend” was a biographical self-help book. The story line was simple…it was our life and a story about our journey throughout my husband’s illness and subsequent death. It was important to me that my readers felt like they knew both Rick and me by the time they finished reading the book. In order to set my book apart, it was important to me to be honest and direct about the variety of emotions that swell up during this stressful process. “Farewell, My Friend” is a passionate and honest betrayal of what I experienced as a caregiver during this challenging time.