Today’s featured ebook is very special to me. Here’s why…
Last summer I wrote a series on this here blog about self-publishing your own ebook. In my post “Do you have an eBook in you? {Psst! I think so!}” I encouraged you all that your book idea was worth pursuing. I challenged you to share your dream in the comments, and a reader named Dana did just that…
“My idea for an ebook comes from the blog I write. It’s mostly about the unique life I live being married to a man who is paralyzed. My husband is a quadriplegic, because of a gymnastics accident he had on a ministry missions trip in high school. We were email pen pals for 8 years before finally meeting in person. Two years after that, we were married. I had a hard time adjusting to life and marriage while juggling disability. We are Christians, and rely on God to get us through. The blog has already touched so many other wives of men with disabilities, and created community on our blog’s Facebook page. That makes me SO happy! What connects more than anything is my blatant honesty. I think I’d like to try to turn some of the best “real” posts into an ebook.”
I went to Dana’s blog and was fascinated by her story. I replied back to her…
“Wow, Dana–I definitely want to hear more of your story! And I think an ebook would be a great idea. Just think what a gift it would be (to people like me!) who have only just come upon your blog or heard of your story: a collection of the best of your blog so far so I could jump right in and get to know you and hear your journey. I really hope you will do this!”
Dana and I kept in touch, and in October at Allume, I got to meet her. (Here’s a blurry picture of us taken just after my session at Allume–I was still learning how to use the camera on my smart phone 😉 Isn’t she adorable?)
It was then that she told me that she was doing it–really doing it: she was going to publish her first eBook! It was like hearing my blog post was having a baby. OK, that was really weird, but that is what it felt like. I don’t claim any of the credit for Dana’s beautiful work, but she did tell me that my words had helped her birth this dream.
And today her book debuts, with an exquisite cover she designed herself. And I’m just so excited to share it with you!
In Dana’s 40 page book she expounds on one of her most popular posts from her blog Love Like This, sharing “the true life stuff of a good looking quadriplegic and his young wife.”
The first thing I love about the book is Dana’s writing voice. It’s both poetic and real. Secondly, I find her story fascinating–I love the behind-the-scenes peek at a life so different than my own, and yet, maybe not. I could certainly relate to this story about being on auto pilot…
“One time I was on a work trip in Iowa. I was with some coworkers at a sub place for dinner. I was on the phone as we were sitting down to eat, so I was on auto pilot. Without realizing what I was doing, I put my coworker’s straw in his drink, salted his fries and put ketchup on the side, and put his napkin on his lap. I hung up my phone and my coworker just looked at me like I was crazy.
Are you going to feed me? he asked.
I was so embarrassed.” –from We Are: A Caregiving Manifesto
Finally, I really loved Dana’s unique format and the way in which she arranged the content. If you have dreamed of creating an ebook, I think you will be really inspired by this one. Dana proves that everyone has a story to tell, and so many can be blessed in the telling. Her book is beautiful, and I believe yours will be, too!
We Are: A Caregiver’s Manifesto made me tear up, laugh out loud, and count my blessings. Dana’s indomitable effort to find the joy and beauty in the life she lives really inspired me to see my own life from a fresh perspective. I’ve got a lot to be thankful for.
I think it would be fun and romantic to share this short and inspiring book with your spouse this week in which we celebrate love. I’m totally reading it to my guy. I think he will like it because, as an adaptive ski instructor, he has a passion for helping people with disabilities to embrace life fully.
If you know someone who is a caregiver, be sure to share this book to encourage them!
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