I am so excited to announce that I am halfway through the line editing of the book! I have met my goal of cutting at least 10% and the book is much tighter and more succinct. My interior graphics artist is working on the first two chapters. I have already scheduled an appointment with my Vice President of Marketing, publicist Phil West and me to put together a marketing plan for the book. Everything seems to be moving so fast now!
Going through the book has brought back so many memories. I've known some of these contributors for many years and we've seen each other through some major life events. It's hard reliving some of the difficult times and inspiring reliving triumphant events. I find myself emotionally spent at the end of a day of editing. It is difficult sometimes to cut a single word or change a phrase when I know how much these essays mean to the contributors. I only pray that God is guiding me through this process to help illuminate the stories these gentlemen have been willing to share with the world. This is a most humbling experience for me. I feel a weight right now that I hope will be lifted when the book is completed and (hopefully) well received.
To all of you parents out there who feel you are alone in dealing with life raising a child with a congenital heart defect, please know you are in very good company. The Heart of a Mother and soon The Heart of a Father are two resources that will help you see you are not alone. The experience of raising a child with a heart defect is shared across religious, socio-economic, racial and physical boundaries. Regardless of the native language spoken, we CHD parents speak a common language. We know meanings of abbreviations like HLHS, SATs, EKG, ToF and more. We have all experienced hearing words from doctors and technicians that no parent should ever have to hear. We've all spent countless hours waiting for our children to return to our loving arms after surgery. These books help to illustrate the fact that we are not alone.
I hope all of you have a wonderful day and look forward to reading The Heart of a Father as much as I've enjoyed bringing it to you.
