Today is the 25th anniversary of the day my dad moved his residence to Heaven. He went a few days before the big birthday celebration for Jesus. Nick celebrates the day people pass away as their Heaven day, to him it is like a birthday. He remembers loved ones and sends them balloons up to
The Christmas holiday begins next weekend and the common question asked is, “Are you ready?” Well most of you are not as lucky as me. I have a personal assistant named Nick, that makes sure I am ready long before the Christmas rush. Starting just before Thanksgiving, Nick begins reminding me that Christmas is coming
We have all experienced it. We are trying our best to handle a situation and then someone, who hasn’t any experience with what we are going through, decides what is best and tells us what we should do. I have had various responses over the years to the same scenario, but last week my response
My son Nick has a rare, debilitating, life threatening disease called Lennox Gastaut Syndrome. For over 38 years I have been consciously aware that with LGS he has an increased risk of unexpected premature death. There is even a name for it. SUDEP, sudden unexpected death from epilepsy. This hangs over me every day. When
Caregiving for a loved one with a rare and debilitating disease can stretch our capacities to the maximum. Some days our responsibilities feel overwhelming. Those days, when we are observing our life, all we can see is the storm clouds and the rain pouring down. We have so many things to do and are not
Nick has strong opinions on what he considers the correct timing of things. Yesterday was Thanksgiving and today begins the Christmas season. First thing this morning he began singing Christmas carols. Sometimes during the year, I tease him a little bit. I will start singing Christmas carols when it is not between Thanksgiving and New
The logistics of traveling with Nick has gotten more cumbersome as his Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) progresses. However we all love traveling and the extra effort is worth it. After the LGS conference in Orlando we stayed on a few days. We went in the hot tub, out to dinner, visited friends, but the thing that
There were many things that I loved at the second day of the LGS Foundation Conference in Orlando. There were thought provoking presentations on various topics including LGS research, new drug therapies, surgical options, devices, plus genetics and precision medicine. We had a great banquet and dance. It was a wonderful day. I took a
When you see a toddler having a fit, do you judge the parents and believe it is their fault? Do you feel that they should be doing something? Often we all do. I don’t believe that parents are responsible for their children’s mistakes. However I do believe that parents have the duty to teach their
Nick loves airplanes. Playing with them, watching them take off and land, traveling on them, everything. Arden and I are very blessed. This trip we are not heading to Ireland, instead, we are going to Kentucky to visit family, do Halloween, a birthday celebration and get lots of hugs from grandchildren. In the middle of
Announcing that I have finished a book with the working title of “The Fairy Fort.” I am currently pitching it to publishers. Keep checking back to watch the progress of my newest novel.
Here is a quick glimpse of the story.
Sarah Doherty is an 18-year-old living in rural Ireland at the tail end of the Great War. Plagued by severe epilepsy, she is protected by her parents and lives a sheltered, secluded, lonely life. The Fae, local Irish fairies, interfere with her life. She falls forward a century in time through the local fairy fort of standing stones. She had a seizure in 1918 and woke up in 2020. The 21st century world includes life-saving prescriptions, physical comforts and the independence and freedom she seeks. The locals are welcoming and Andy Mclaughlin, a handsome young historian, is intriguing. She doesn’t want to return home.
Then a letter arrives from Boston divulging the story of Sarah and Andy’s lives that are deeply entwined in the previous century. They are not yet in love but as they seek to verify the letter through online resources, they feel a growing obligation to their unborn family and to each other. What would happen to their posterity living in Boston if they don’t return to 1918? Even if they do make it back, her parents can never know what happened to her or that would change everything.
This Young Adult time-travel romance explores the question: Do we have the freedom to make choices or is free will an elaborate illusion?
This is my third book. I love reading time travel romances. I am an advocate for epilepsy awareness because my 43-year-old son has intractable epilepsy. As a genealogist specializing in Irish research, I live part of the year in the village where the story is based. I wrote the book to help young adults understand that difficult situations can change your life. Sometimes miraculously.
