I wrote this book for my Mom after we were given the news by her doctors that our time together was growing short. It was finished just a few months before she passed away, and I feel very lucky that I was able to share my feelings of love and appreciation for her before it was too late.
Inspiration for the book came from a remark made to me by my older brother. He told me one day that he saw a lot of Mom in me. Of course, I was stunned. "Really? I don't think I'm like her at all." The thought gnawed away at me for months before I finally just sat down alone with my thoughts to contemplate the question. "How am I like my Mom?" I realized that I was like her in a myriad of ways. I also realized that I was proud of all the ways that I was like her, and grateful for the gifts for happiness and survival that she had blessed me with. My Mom was a gutsy, practical, and strong woman who was full of compassion and showed kindness to all. She survived the death of my brother at 19 years of age, and the death of my father just 10 years later and while I was still a high school student. Growing up as her daughter taught me how to be self sufficient and resourceful. She taught me to always be kind to others. But most importantly she taught me how to find joy in the ordinary and how to survive life's many traumas with grace and dignity. In short, she gave me the expert advice that have led me to lead a successfully happy life. I'm glad I got to tell her all of this before she left us. If anything, I hope that this book helps to remind us to tell our loved ones how much they mean to us every single day....We never know when it will be too late to do so.