Hi again,
Wow, two blog posts in one day! I must be getting the hang of this blog thing! I didn’t even know what a Blog was until last year! Yeah, yeah, I’m a little behind the times but so what! I am a laid back 70’s chick who is not computer savvy but at least I can type and spell! 🙂
As you know, I write horror novels. Plain and simple scare the poop out of you horror novels. I try not to be too graphic and keep the genre clean with tales that may remind you of Alfred Hitchcock or The Twilight Zone. Others delve into the supernatural and are full of vampires and witches. Hey, they say to write what you know!
But you may not know that I also write other types of stories such as inspirational, memoir and even comedy. But the book I have coming out next is a story that I wrote about my mom after she passed away in 2006.
My mom Victoria was a wonderful and beautiful woman. As a Cherokee Indian, she was full of advice, quotes and little sayings that I grew up hearing but never really appreciating until her passing.
She had a favorite quote that she used on everything such as her email signature. I even had it printed on her memory cards at her memorial service.
“The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow, but the rainbow won’t wait while you do the work”
What this means simply is the work will wait, enjoy life, it’s later than you think!
My upcoming book, “The Rainbow Won’t Wait” is a collection of advice from a dying mother to her obstinate daughter who she was leaving behind.
I could have been a better daughter but only had what I had to work with…me.
Although a good person, I was very difficult for my mother. I was an arrogant French kid who grew up mainly raised by my father, a charming French Canadian, and we had a bond that was unbreakable.
I loved my mother dearly but she was closer to my brother in many respects due to his childhood illness that left him terminally ill at one point in his young life.
When my father died in 1986, I felt lost. I felt as though he had left me with two people, my mother and my brother, who were almost strangers to me. They had the bond that Daddy and I had, but now he was gone and I felt isolated from them. Although my mother never, ever made me feel that way. It was something that I owned.
She loved me in spite of the fact that I was a faulty human and a “devilish” child as she would say. Her Indian name for me was “Running Mouth” and I was a hyper child who never sat still for a moment.
Taking care of her for three months as she lay dying, I listened to her for the first time in my life. I heard every breath she took, knowing that one of those breaths would be her last.
I didn’t know how to take care of a dying mother. I was scared to death of losing her and when I heard the Big “C” word, I began to mourn her at that very moment. Although I was an adult when she passed, I was still a smart ass, frightened little brat who didn’t have a clue what life was all about.
It took her death to teach me.
I tell the story of taking care of her, challenging her, even in her last months, and wanting to be the daughter that she needed me to be but not knowing how to be that person.
I talk about how her death changed me and how the hell that I was dragged into after her death plunged me into a three year crippling, suicidal depression. One by one, I had deaths and tragedies befall me until I was broken, scared and alone. But in that break, my own soul death, I rose again…a better person.
There are also funny moments between us as mother and daughter. Tender moments that I will treasure for eternity and silly things that she said under the influence of Morphine. She couldn’t tell a joke to save her soul but she would say some of the funniest things. I loved her so much!
I feel now, six years after her passing, I am the woman that she wanted me to be. I hope she can look down on me from Heaven and see how I have changed and as she said, “living up to my potential and making a difference in the world and not just taking up space in it.”
Hopefully this book will inspire others and help to guide you through a difficult time. I also hope that the words of comfort from my mother will help you as well. I feel they are wise words and I want to share them with you. I want to heal others not hurt them.
The book is written in short chapters of advice that she gave me as a child and how those words of comfort came back to hug me as an adult dealing with the death of a parent.
There is also information in the book about her rare type of cancer and the early warning signs that everyone should look out for, no matter your age.
I am looking for a March release since her birthday would have been March 17, the day before mine!
The book cover will be released this week!
Thank you for your continued love and support! 🙂
Early reviews for Rainbow:
“Lisa tells a brutally honest and poignant story about a mother and daughter dealing with the difficult task of caring for a dying parent. The words of comfort in The Rainbow Won’t Wait actually helped me deal with my own mother’s recent passing.” Brenda J., teacher and avid book lover
“I loved this book and it actually made me cry! I know Lisa personally and have been witness to the remarkable transformation she has undergone since her mother’s death. She has overcome incredible obstacles, ones that I don’t think I could have, but she came through it all like the champ she is. Thank you for sharing this story with the world.” Barbara H., writer
“Brutally honest, this is a powerful piece of work! A guide to help anyone through the dark corners of life. Good job Lisa!” Rosemary A., reader
“Vicki (her mom) would be so proud of her!” Anne W., antique dealer and avid book lover
Lisa V. Proulx, Author/Speaker 