This Happened to Me
Writing from Love
How a promise to a friend led to a career
Writing was always my passion, but for many years, not a career.
The turning point was in 1993, when to ground myself as my friend Pat was dying from cancer, I wrote in my journal about our friendship of over thirteen years now being on an uncharted journey.
When Pat read it, she made me promise to publish it, to let our friendship help others. Reaching out in love, she helped me leap in faith with my writing to seek publication.
I kept that promise, on a query mission after her death, securing my first paid publication of it in 1995.
Her encouragement launched my writing career.
In the article, I shared my feelings of fear and helplessness from the very first phone call from Pat that brought the terrifying news, to when I began to make some peace with it.
“For the first time since this began, I didn’t feel helpless. At first I had wanted to do the extraordinary. Now I knew it was as simple as being there for each other as always. Together we would ride out the rough times; enjoy the good times; look forward to better times; and appreciate what we had each day. That, and trust in God, would have to be enough.”
I concluded with how a second-grade class trip with my daughter comforted me with the words about friendship from the spider in Charlotte’s Web.
“Friendship elevates our lives here. We’re born. We live. We die. The quality of our life is so much more important than the length of our lives.”
A local newspaper reprinted the article in 1997.
A woman called, telling me an acquaintance told her of my article after a diagnosis of her best friend’s terminal cancer. She thanked me for sharing my pain and insights, which helped calm her roller coaster a bit.
How blessed I felt receiving proof Pat was right insisting my writing would help others, feeling her presence beside me after that call!
