Even though this is not my first time getting published, this small accomplishment screams major victory to me. The year of 2023 was a roller-coaster, ending on a devastating note of loss and grief. I lost my older sister, Sonia to cancer. She was also a fellow author; we actually jumped into the writing game around the same time back in 2014. She was a vivacious family woman, eager to help those looking for spiritual direction and I was still trying to find my way after the end of a toxic marriage.
We were in different places in life, but things seemed to run parallel between us when it came to writing. After putting my first draft together, she was one of the first persons to read it. Being the type of person she was, she encouraged me to dig deeper and go further, which I ended up doing. Looking back, that first draft was horrible! But she focused on the positive side of it which helped me immensely. Her opinion on so many things about me mattered so much. Someone as poised, classy and disciplined as she was, Sonia had the input that meant the world to me.
Our most enjoyable conversations came from dealing and talking about our family. So many layers of joy, pain, beauty and uniqueness are interwoven throughout our family. Those conversations, along with my own thoughts and experiences is the well of my source of writing. Like many other families, ours had been through a lot, but there were always stories of bouncing back and being resilient. I saw a lot of that growing up and I definitely saw it with her. We come from a line of true fighters.
Along with my conversations with my sister, what I write about also comes from the urge to raise awareness of what we’re capable of doing to ourselves and others – in a good and bad way. I always have to remind myself that people are going to be people, and that we can only control what we do and how we move. In some ways, “The Grandparents” story holds that same message. Things happen to us, but how will we bounce back? What can we take away from that experience?
Writing this story was so much fun. It stemmed from the sights and sounds of my childhood, along with recent conversations with my mother. This recent publication is also a family win of sorts. So much talent and gifts run through our family that is often overlooked or never acknowledged. I hope this serves as some type of inspiration to create your own platform and be heard. Of course, Sonia is woven into this story as well; her thoughts, her journey, her pain and victories…our endless conversations. I got the news of my story being chosen for publication within days before Sonia passed. I never got to absorb and process the news until now. It is an awesome joy…it’s also bittersweet.
I think Sonia would be proud…oh wait, she already told me she was. 😊
Read “The Grandparents” HERE.