GIFT of the Hit
COLLECTED STORIES BOOK PROJECT
Inspiration
I ran into an old friend I hadn't seen for years and only had a few seconds to catch up on our news. I shared, somewhat proudly, that I was married at age 48 then had two wonderful little kids and was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. She picked up on the disease part of my check in and expressed how sorry she was about my diagnosis.
“Oh,” I explained, "you don't need to feel bad, that is actually the best thing that's ever happened to me.”
She stared at me in disbelief. I felt compelled to help clarify and blurted out a concise explanation that surprised even me, “Because of my diagnosis, I surrendered to love.” That's it I thought, the essence of my entire life's struggle captured in one sentence.
She looked puzzled and needed to take a couple seconds to process what I just said. I suppose in many ways it does not make sense to credit a debilitating disease for cracking open the capacity to love deeply like never before. Disease ergo love? It was a brief meeting and soon came time to part. I tried not to be flippant but I did say to her, “I guess you'll just have to read the book.”
The idea for a collected stories project became clearer every time I shared my book entitled Gift of the Hit. I told people that the book was about how getting a disease turned into my life's greatest gift. Through honest discovery that my diagnosis is a blessing, people continue to be inspired to share their own stories of adversity and subsequent insights that led them to find peace and in some cases gratitude.
And the idea for a collected stories volume, or more, was born.
Synopsis
The premise of this book theme "the Gift of the Hit" is simple. My diagnosis of a chronic neurodegenerative disease turned out, over time, to be the best thing that ever happened to me in my half century of being human. That’s the “punch” line. How I figured out the good grace accompanying every such hit took me 50 odd years.The Gift of the Hit books are my way to give witness that gifts can indeed emerge from our life hits.
Invitation
If you are inspired to get involved and share your story please contact us. If you are going through tough trial and want to make sense of it please know that is possible given time and choice tactics. The insights shared in these books will reveal just that! and the insights these authors will be sharing! Remember the old saying, "If you're going through hell ... keep right on going till yer through!
What if every detail of our lives, even what we judge as the good and the bad, is there for a purpose and it all serves us?
This book tells our stories, struggles
and triumphs and how each of us, in our way, came to understand the
Gift of the Hit.