Page 406 - She's One Crazy Lady!

The experien“
Crazy Hats – my right arm – from the day we walked into Debenhams and tried on hats! Through my book I hope, with all my heart, that her memory will live on for all that she did, for I know I couldn’t have done it without her. Much of the book is, therefore, very much Marilyn’s story.
Thank you, Marilyn. You were so poorly but ‘thank you’ for giving me that kick up the backside!
An email from Julie: “Marilyn would be so proud of you.”
That was six months ago and here we are – ‘The Book’ – the story of my life, my journey and my ups and downs – in print. Having written a considerable amount of the text in the previous (20!) years I knew it would a mammoth undertaking to pull it all together in such a limited time and in a way that was acceptable for the publishers and to the readers. There were several chapters unwritten and, of course, a very different last chapter.
I had been recommended to a local publishing firm who said they could do what I wanted and I chose to self-fund the whole project. At one time I did consider getting sponsorship but this, like Crazy Hats, was my ‘baby’ and it was something I personally wanted to do
ce of writing books has taught me that I like being in my own company, in my
and had to do, glad that Jayne and Caroline, being privy to read the first three chapters, said it would sell! It may sound crazy, but I wasn’t worried about it selling – I just wanted it completed for people to read hoping it would help them and others to get talking about cancer – and possibly write ‘their’ story too. As said earlier, I wanted the story of my life ‘condensed’ into a neat and tidy package so that I could, at last, declutter my house and have ‘the book’ at hand to reminisce and reflect upon when I was older... and I am getting older!
Finishing it has necessitated hours and hours and hours of solitary time spent at home, sitting at my laptop, surrounded by heaps and heaps of copious notes and diaries, sifting through all the material I’d saved and the thousands of photographs stored.
“The experience of writing books has taught me that I like being in my own company, in my own brain...” (Dawn French)
It certainly was a labour of love but such a rewarding labour of love when the day came to hand over my draft to the publishers, my wonderful ‘proof-readers’ having done a marvellous job to make the story read even better – and the only ones to have had a full preview of my life story!
I hope that by reading it, it becomes clear how my past shaped my future; how all the highs and lows I experienced prepared me for running a charity, for I often said that running a major charity was much like running a school – many of the responsibilities, skills and attributes so similar.
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own brain”
(Dawn French)
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