Book Series

Approximately two months after my husband passed away from cancer, I needed to get away for a while. In 2020 I was not only his wife, but also his caregiver for the last year of his life. Watching my husband slowly die in front of my eyes took everything out of me. My 46 Days getaway was an opportunity for me to escape reality for a while, slowly find myself again, and discover a variety of ways to begin the long and grueling healing process.

2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run = 140.6 miles. It’s called Ironman. I completed two of them in my mid-thirties. At the time, I thought it was just another fitness goal I set for myself. And, yes, it’s definitely a huge fitness goal, but 20 years later as I look back at this accomplishment, it was not about crossing the finish line at all. Both the physical and mental strength it took to train for, as well as complete it, actually provided me with the physical and mental strength I needed years later when I found out I had cancer, as well as when I learned my husband’s cancer was terminal. I will share what I learned during this part of my life, other than just swimming, biking, and running 140.6 sMILES and how it equipped me for my future self.

The most gut-wrenching words I have ever heard were spoken to me in 2013 and then again to my husband in 2019: “You Have Cancer.” Both times, our lives were just clicking along uneventfully, when out of the blue, some flu-like symptoms started. Then, a few days later we found ourselves in a cold and dreary patient room while the doctor sat down in front of us with sad eyes and quietly said those dreaded words. I am pretty sure they were prefaced with, “I am sorry to share this news…,” but all I can remember is the echoing of those 3 Words that forever changed me. In this book, I will share what it was like hearing those words and how my husband and I processed it, managed it, and did everything we could to support each other. I will talk about how I truly believe I got cancer six years before my husband to better prepare me to cope with and care for him during the last year of his life.