Sometimes I wonder why I put our personal account out there for the world to read. Sometimes I wonder what my family, friends and neighbors must think of me. For those of you who have not had the benefit of having us speak at one of your functions you really don’t know why.
Here is the reason, when I was in the ER with my son, I heard a voice say “This is the story you have been waiting to write.” When I was a young girl I always wrote, day and night if I wasn’t writing I was reading. Around the age of thirteen I put my writing away with my childhood things, always knowing that if the right story came along, I may one day pick up my number two pencil once again. Then the voice said once again, “Pay attention this is the story you have been waiting to write, I gave you the talent.” My response was, “Then it better have a good ending or I’m not going to write it.” Well our story has a phenomenal ending. I owed a debt and needed to fulfill the promise I made that day standing in the ER praying for a chance for my son’s survival.
It took me a lot of years to complete this journey, but our story is out there. It is a raw and some times an unkind look at our lives, however it is the unvarnished truth seen through my eyes. I can only hope that my dysfunctions and my reactions and lessons can help just one person and then the journey will all be worth it.
One of the best things about having written my book, The Year of the Cicadas is reading the reviews. They have been like one great big, wonderful hug. I have trouble accepting help, accepting compliments and many times I simply gloss over these reviews, and think ohhh, isn’t that nice? On occasion, I stop, sit down with a cup of steaming tea and actually allow myself to read and absorb these reviews, and let it sink in. Then I am overwhelmed with emotion.
Here is an example of one of the so far eighty-two reviews on Amazon:
I received a copy of this book through the Goodreads’ First Read Giveaway.
Every once in a while, if you’re fortunate enough, a book comes along that changes your life forever. I’ve had only a handful in my lifetime, and I am excited to add “The Year of the Cicadas” to the list.
Yes, the story of Bryant’s fall and recovery in themselves were incredible and miraculous. But Catie’s journey as a mother and a wife through all of this, her easy and brutally honest way of speaking through the book, the way she explains how she’s feeling at any given moment about her husband, their children, friends and neighbors – and how those people are feeling about her, how she brings in other family members’ stories about their time during and following the accident, and finally the mountains of emotions Catie has to “travel” alone after Bryant’s recovery … her VOICE is what makes this book spectacular:
“To forgive and to love is really the most important thing of all. To forgive ourselves and to love ourselves is the key to forgiving and loving others.”
“I thought about family and my friends not being there for me, perhaps it was not because of them but because of something in me.”
“I love to paint walls. I am also the artist of the life I am living … I say to you, if you do not like the canvas you have painted, change it.”
I urge you to read this book. I know it will stay with me for a long time.
When I read words like this, I know I have done the right thing, and that voice in the ER that was urging me to tell the story had a plan to use our journey to help others.
Thank you to my readers, you have helped to heal our family and to heal me.
Catie
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Our marketing plan is driven by one person at a time, and you play an integral role in helping this book find it’s way into the hearts and the minds of the people it was written for.
Want to help? Here are some of the things you can do:
Write a review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or our website www.theyearofthecicadas.com
Tell a friend about our book or purchase a copy for them as a gift.
Take our book to your or your friends book club, church group, or start a small group to read the book together. We have study guide questions on our website to help guide you through conversations about the book. You can get a discount through our website for multiple books purchased.
Write your local newspaper book reviewer and tell them how much you like our book.
Send a copy of our book or write to one of your favorite shows, like the Ellen Show, Oprah, The View or Kathie & Hoda, tell them what you think about it. It only does so much if I say my book is good, you the reader carry a lot more weight than I do with the outside world.
Pray for our message, that our story will reach the hearts and minds of the people who can help us to open the doors. Pray that our story will help to inspire people who are in need and that our story finds a way into their lives.
Without you, the readers of The Year of the Cicadas, this story would be in a shoebox in the top of my closet waiting for my grandchildren to discover it after my passing. Thank you for letting me see it find the light while I am still here. You rock.
The Year of The Cicadas 
Leave a Reply