Greetings, my friends. If you haven’t read February’s newsletter, you may want to begin with Part One, as the two pieces are connected.
After writing in various genres, I began working on The Fish Dress, a magical realism novel, in 2015. I poured myself into the project and, eager to share it with the world, moved the publication date up from 2020 to 2019—living my dream.
On March 27, 2018, my son died. It was tragic and unexpected. He was just thirty-six years old. From that day forward, my life changed forever, as did my daughter’s. Close in age, my children had always shared a strong bond, but in the end, there were no goodbyes—no final farewell, no last glimpse of his radiant smile. My daughter and I clung to each other in our grief, heartbroken and searching for any sign of life.
I could no longer focus on The Fish Dress or the work of editing, publishing, and marketing. Instead, I turned inward—writing in my journal, taking long walks, praying, attending grief counseling, visiting a medium, spending time with my daughter, and going to the cemetery to pray.
Eight months later, I returned to The Fish Dress to complete the project I had abandoned. Unfortunately, the book was printed without my final approval and contained multiple publishing errors.
Four months later, I suffered a major brain bleed that severely damaged my occipital and frontal lobes, nearly blinding me. It also affected my ability to read and write, along with many other skills I had once mastered. My dreams were shattered. My writing felt over, and my depression added yet another layer to the grief of losing my son. Thank God I still have my daughter.
My dreams of writing seemed to disappear.
After being released from the hospital, I began an intensive outpatient therapy program to address my disabilities. This included speech, occupational, vision, and reading therapy. After nearly two years, my instructors recommended that I withdraw from the program. My condition was too complex to fully resolve.
To be continued in the May newsletter, which will include the final chapter of The Day My World Changed.
Goodbye for now,
Carol