Hello there. I’m Erin, an author with twenty years’ editorial expertise and a vegetarian mom in my mid-forties. I have many passions, including books, parenting, photography, writing, and yoga. I am also a member of a club nobody wants to be part of. The cancer club.
Modern medicine coupled with support from my family and friends as well as my own resilience saved me. Every cancer patient is unique, with one-of-a-kind experiences. But my blood cancer and treatments are not the sum of who I am.
I am a miracle. How can I make such a bold statement? Before scientists dreamed up bone marrow transplants, patients with my form of acute leukemia died, and died quickly. Yet I am still alive and kicking since my 2011 transplant; hence, a miracle.
Before I dive into the three main parts of this volume, I want to be clear on a few things I am not. I do not have a medical degree, so you won’t find doctor-speak here. Though I admire the nurses and other care-team members who look after me at the hospital and in clinic, I cannot watch blood draws and I still have a bit of a phobia about vomiting. The medical arts are just not my calling. Psychology is a topic I enjoy reading, and I have family members who are therapists. I must be clear, though, again; I have no training in psychotherapy or other mental healing professions.
So what sort of authority do I have to presume to write a book about rediscovering one’s way in the world? Simple, been there, done that.
Though I received abundant information on how to regain and maintain my physical health after my life-saving stem-cell transplant, I felt a bit lost at sea. How was I to rebuild a life I wanted to live? Where were the resources for those affected by cancer, something akin to What Color Is Your Parachute (for college grads wondering what would be a good career after school)? That’s when I began to hunt for some sort of book or DVD to help me understand how to reimagine and then strengthen my identity. I found none. The more I asked around, the more people encouraged me to write it myself. And so I have.
Maybe some suggestions I offer will ring true to you. They helped me, so they may assist you. My goal is to try to be a friend on your journey in your efforts to reclaim your true self.