Now that my book is completed and “out,” available on Amazon, and at Politics and Prose Bookstore here in Washington; and having done a wonderful and fun presentation at Sixth and I Synagogue also here in Washington, I’m beginning to get feedback from various people.

It has been fascinating to me.

In writing this book, I always wondered who would be interested. Men?, Women? And, what parts of the story would they relate to. I am now beginning to get that…..and I love it!

What’s really nice is hearing from several people that they stayed up all night reading my book!  That really makes me feel good; I wanted so much for the book to be a good read.

The other comment that I love is people crying in the first part and laughing in the latter parts.   They got it!

So it was worth all the hard work!

Thanks to my son Robert and his wife, Sigrid, for “giving” this to me as a birthday present five years ago.

Completing my last, and most recent book, I realized that, over the years, I have written three different books, all with three different goals, for three different audiences.  Although, it could still be the same reader.

To explain myself, let me begin with book one.

Considering the fact that I don’t consider myself a writer, book one was the most difficult. I told a senior editor of one of the most prestigious publishing houses that I would have it done in three months.

It it took me ten years.

I had written papers and articles but never a book.  I learned! The hard way!

But, I was determined to complete it because I had a strong incentive: I had a strong and proven message to get across to many people, patients, and families coping with long-term chronic illness.

A year later, I had another, strong, incentive – how to reach out to the thousands of health professionals with my short-term counseling model – which I called Medical Crisis Counseling. It had been so successful for me and the professionals I trained that I wanted to fill the needs.  This one, however, after completing book one, was easier to do. By now, I had thoroughly integrated the model and was able to “teach” it.   And I had a great publisher!

I felt fulfilled – no more books! It was hard but worth it!

Now – 22 years later – I did it again.  I wrote another book, but this time with no strong incentive or clear goal. It was my son’s and daughter-in-law’s idea.  Write about your life.

Not wishing to hurt their feelings, I began four years ago.

What about my life? What’s the story? I knew the details but not the story.

Now that it is completed, I know the story. For me, the goal, and the incentive was to find the story.

And, find it, I did.

I am glad I wrote it. This one was more for me than the reader. I am grateful for what I learned. I hope the reader will learn something about themselves through my experiences. I told you earlier, I always like to have a goal!