I had some time this month to devote to editing and putting the finishing touches on According to Lula Belle. The introduction to the book was my personal story of being in the pit of despair once upon a time and then finding hope. This story took place nearly two decades ago. For reasons you will understand once you read it, I kept this story a secret for a very long time.
For some reason, and I have no idea why, I had an opportunity to share my story. No one was expecting to hear it. I was asked to be a keynote speaker for a group of women and my topic was "Finding Hope." I realized these women were expecting me to share the story form my first book, A Clock, a Coffee Pot, and a Field of Lilies. But those stories are about my father. It is the story of his hope, not mine.
As I was first writing my speech, I was always going nuts with the delete button. Nothing seemed right. After some deep thinking, I realized it was time to share my story, not my father's. And I did. Afterwards, I was asked to tell my story again and again for various groups. What I thought would be difficult and sad has been so powerful and rewarding.
Any way, during this summer as I've been working on the finishing touches to According to Lula Belle, I started going nuts with the delete button again. I decided a couple of weeks ago to put that book on hold and instead, dedicate my time to writing the entire story I began sharing this summer. It hasn't been easy emotionally, but the words are pouring out of me. So far, I have written over 25,000 words. It is a mess right now, but hopefully my children will cooperate and let their mama keep writing a little more each day in peace. We shall see.
