Napkin Notes - The Book
WGarth Callaghan
Well, it finally happened! It hasn't even been one week and the excitement is still building! I can't begin to describe the feelings I experienced as October 28 came around. It was just like any day in the past few months, with one exception.
I woke up early, and immediately ascertained what I thought my energy output might be for the day. I thought it might be slightly above average. That was a good thing considering what was ahead.
It was the day I had waited for since February. I met with the team at HarperCollins right after we recorded the Rachael Ray Show segment. I shared with them my recent cancer diagnosis. Lisa Sharkey put the meeting on pause and made a quick call to someone at Memorial Sloan Kettering. She wanted to make sure I saw some doctors there before, well, you know. We also agreed that it was better to get my book out this year. Sooner is always better than later when you have metastatic kidney cancer!
We set out to finish a first draft in about 80 days. It was tough. Draining. I had to resurface memories and emotions I had worked hard to move past. How many times did I have to relive telling Emma and Lissa I had cancer? I needed to share my experiences with you.
It was worth it! I am extremely proud of the book, and I couldn't be happier with the design HarperCollins created. It's beautiful.
The HarperCollins team visited us recently to film some promo videos. They were supposed to bring a dummy book, but somehow they tricked me! This video shows the first time I hold my actual book.
I hope you can take time out of your day to read this. It's a call to action. Life is short. Do what you're meant to do. Be what you're meant to be.
Pack. Write. Connect.