You might be thinking I’m talking about the politics of the day. Nope. Not today. One of the challenges I took on when drafting From First Breath to Last: A Story About Love, Womanhood, and Aging, was to write my life’s fairy tale or new myth. As with most writing I do, I had no plan to do this initially. And, for many writers, that is the beauty of writing. I often have no idea where it might take me or how it will land. As it turns out, this fairy tale or mythmaking has been powerful for me to reflect on in all those moments since it first caught my attention.

Those who have read From First Breath to Last, know how I weave my mom’s direct writing from her unpublished memoir into the book. Too, I add bits of her dissertation and the book she published in 1994 titled Mythmaking: Heal Your Past, Claim Your Future. Mom was 64 when she published that book. I’m 64 now. This part of Mom’s midlife journey was a key part of my book’s journey, and so I added the introduction from Mythmaking into my book’s chapter titled “Mythmaking: The Power of Story.” (The book had been published by mom’s sister Miriam’s then publishing company called Sibyl Publications.) Mom used this fairy tale or myth writing challenge during a class she taught at Marylhurst University where she was adjunct faculty. She received approval from thirty class participants to share their myths within her book: “Women’s New Myths” such as “The Lost Purr” and “A Tale of Becoming.”

Patty ended her book with her own written myth titled “So Good.” It made sense to me, as I drafted From First Breath to Last, to challenge myself in the writing of my own myth. It came easily, although it wasn’t something I had done before.

Earlier this week as I followed a LinkedIn discussion about not settling for good enough, I laughed out loud! Trust me, I do understand how important it is to make our work high quality and not to give up. Yet, I am at the time in my life when Enough really is Enough!

While I hope you pick up a copy of From First Breath to Last, either as a paper book, ebook or audiobook with my narration, I too wanted to share my fairy tale, or new myth here. These days, I frequently refer to this story nearly as a mantra when I find my brain putting me into that more, more, more mentality.

Learn more about all the places you can pick up a copy. Want the audiobook? Updated: The audiobook is now available on all platforms, including Libro.fm, Chirp, Kobo, Spotify, Libby (though libraries have to purchase), and Audible.

So now for my fairytale or new myth. Listen to the audiofile or read along.

Be The Best

Reading with Mom in our home on January 4, 2021. Patty died on March 8, 2021, three weeks shy of 88.

Audiobook trailer