As some of you may know, I’ve written a memoir.
In 2006, my husband and I quit our jobs, sold our house and
SUV, bought an RV, and embarked on a year-long road trip to visit all the
national parks in the lower 48 with our then two-year-old son. On day five of
the trip—despite reassurances to my husband that we didn’t need maternity
insurance—I discovered I was pregnant. Despite the challenges of finding
prenatal care and the strain the pregnancy put on our marriage and the trip, we
continued our journey.
There was no forewarning of impending trouble. Yet in
December 2006, doctors sliced me open in an emergency C-section. Our son was
born in distress and immediately whisked off to the NICU. Five days after his
birth, we learned of his diagnosis: Trisomy 18, an often-fatal condition. The neonatologist told us to prepare for him to die.
The memoir demonstrates the challenges of living on the road
and facing down adversity and grim statistics. It parallels human challenge
with geological change. It shows how, with perseverance, anyone can live a
dream if they choose.
We did a lot of hiking during our trip. And, during the
first half, I was quite the bookworm. After my younger son was born, my reading
slowed considerably. I read 36 books over the course of the trip. Like music,
some of them take me back to the time and place where I read them. For example,
I read Velocity (a most freaky book) by Dean Koontz in Oregon while my husband took some time alone
to ski at Mt. Bachelor.
Do you have any books that remind you of a certain time or
place in your life? Have you been to all the national parks in the lower 48?
I remember you mentioning that trip before - what an emotional challenge!
ReplyDeleteTerry Brooks' Sword of Shannara trilogy reminds me of my youth and when I fell in love with fantasy.
Quite the trip it must have been
ReplyDeleteI know this memoir will be a huge seller someday. I can't imagine what an experience this must have been.
ReplyDeleteThe Shining and Pet Sematary both remind me of the summer between my sophomore and junior year in college. I got into a Stephen King kick that summer and managed to scare myself silly LOL. But at the same time those books bring back good memories of a time when life seemed much more carefree.
I remember the post where you said you were writing your memoir, but I didn't know it was out. Please drop me a comment and let me know it's status. I'll charge my Kindle and purchase one if is. That's a promise!
ReplyDeletei grew up doing summertime roadtrips and have been to mostly all national parks! best memories...
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness this sounds like a fascinating memoir...you have experienced a lot!
ReplyDeleteFor me, it's "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris. A friend gave me the book to read before I had surgery on 9/11. I will always connect it to that tragic day.
ReplyDeleteFirst - I think it is so cool and romantic that you and your husband did that. Not every couple is so in tune with each other that they's be willing to take that leap together.
ReplyDeleteSecond - Dean Koontz & Scott Turow totally take me back to the 90s and my working days in the city when I did a ton of reading on the train - and then talked "Lightning" with my best work friend on our lunch hour. :)