How do you sum up a personal life experience into words? As
a publisher, I review manuscripts daily. With every book I publish I personally
perform a quality check. Recently, we finished the layout of a book about a
cancer patient who lost his life. His wife wrote a book from her perspective as
the caregiver. The pages of her book, filled with photographs, documented his
journey from health, cancer, to treatment, and then to death. Tears immediately
rolled down my face as I thought about her journey. I say “her” journey and not
“his” journey because the wife chose to honor her husband by telling his story
through her eyes to help others through the process of caring for a loved one
with cancer.
Unfortunately, there are people who are living with cancer
right now. This woman's journey began when she answered, “yes, I do” to the
statement, “Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him in sickness and
in health, forsaking all others, keeping only unto him, so long as you both
shall live?” Now, she is on a different journey to tell cancer patients how
they can live longer and productive lives. In addition, she tells her story
about caring for her husband through all the treatments, doctors’ visits, and
life changes. She details in her book how to manage the journey as a caregiver
with personal regimens and ways to prolong and improve the quality of a loved
one’s life through alternative methods.
To write such a personal journey requires a purpose beyond
the pain suffered. When something tragic has happened in your life, reliving
that moment and retelling the story is difficult. The purpose of writing your
stories is not necessarily to see your name on a list of bestsellers. Your
stories—the good, the bad, and the ugly—are a part of you. Telling a story
through a book enables you to become accessible to others and touch them when
you do not have the opportunity to do so face to face.
Telling a story through a book is a way for author and reader to connect over a message. If a book's message is strong enough and is shared by many, it can create change. For business people, a book is a way to share expertise. It is a format for potential clients to take home with them, study, read, and learn from an expert. It can even be a way to prime clients before they embark on hiring for a specialty.
As an author and publisher, I believe writers have an opportunity to preserve their thoughts, experiences, creativity, and most importantly, their faith in print, as well as in other forms of media. We all have a story to tell to impart encouragement, inspiration, education, entertainment, and more. What is your story? Are you ready to tell it?
Telling a story through a book is a way for author and reader to connect over a message. If a book's message is strong enough and is shared by many, it can create change. For business people, a book is a way to share expertise. It is a format for potential clients to take home with them, study, read, and learn from an expert. It can even be a way to prime clients before they embark on hiring for a specialty.
As an author and publisher, I believe writers have an opportunity to preserve their thoughts, experiences, creativity, and most importantly, their faith in print, as well as in other forms of media. We all have a story to tell to impart encouragement, inspiration, education, entertainment, and more. What is your story? Are you ready to tell it?
__________________
Nicole Antoinette owns and
manages Faith Books & MORE Publishing in Gwinnett County, GA. She believes
writers have an obligation to preserve their thoughts, experiences, creativity,
and most importantly, their faith in print, as well as through other forms of
media. To learn more about publishing your book or republishing this article,
contact Nicole Antoinette at publishing@faithbooksandmore.com or 678.232.6156.
Copyright © 2012 by Nicole Antoinette Smith.
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