The Task Ahead

The Writer’s Quest

Dearest Friends.

I am happy so many of you are re-reading my books and noticing details you didn’t notice in the first read-through. It is exciting to be read again and with a close eye to the story. This says to me that I need to get busy. I need new stories out there.

Unfortunately, I am still recovering from a stroke I had last February, so I don’t quite feel back to normal yet. I keep waiting for normality to return. I keep waiting to be able to walk my little dog, Rocky, and get my mail, and drive my car. But my ‘big , beautiful brain’ isn’t quite as organized as it used to be. I’m more emotional than I was before. I feel like a different person than when I wrote my other fourteen books.

I wonder when I will get the strength back on my left side so that I can type as fast as I used to, instead of hunting and pecking for every letter. As I struggle, I am fighting the good fight. I am faithfully doing all my physical therapy exercises. I am taking walks down the hallway of my apartment building to develop the stamina, strength and endurance to persevere. I am striving with everything I have, to get back to you.

I believe it is a heroic journey I am on. Why not? I am bringing back everything I have learned. I have so much to tell you about the foibles of being human. So much to tell you about desire and grace. So much to tell you about what makes us brave and what makes us broken. So much to tell you about abandonment and betrayal. So much to tell you about overcoming adversity, and having forgiveness for self and others. The eternal story of truth is the belief in something greater than ourselves. I will carry on as long as I am able. Thank you for your belief in me.

I need to ask for your prayers again, to do this latest hard thing. We are built to do hard things, I am told. We are built to pursue greatness, to go beyond ourselves to bring something back to the storytelling fireside, and add some new kindling, some new hope to the blaze. I need to write with a new commitment. I have something that is mine to say.

I feel like I have aged a hundred years since I had my stroke. Tell me that at 68, I am NOT too old to write another book. Tell me that I can still write a book that you consume with interest and that you enjoy.

Easier said than done, I think. Writing books is not an easy pursuit. It takes dedication and hard work. It takes an unwavering belief in yourself, belief in the power of stories to heal.

This is my promise to you: I will do my best to not disappoint you. I will do my best to deliver a good story built from the ground up and with an eye toward heaven. This is all I know to do. Onward! May your prayers light my way.

Love you! ♥️

Photo by Anton Sobotyak on Unsplash

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