It’s Alive

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Monday, May 6, 2024 Uncharted: A widow’s journey back to life and love cruising the Intracoastal Waterway (Purchase here) is being released. I did it!

My plan has remained the same throughout my life – follow your dreams and your heart. I’m not sure that’s what Monsieur Saint-Exupéry meant by a plan but that’s my story. Dreams, wishes, goals, plans, or whatever you want to call them are all part of the same dynamic. Tops on my list of goals, for as long as I can remember – write a book. 

Writing was always my first love and I knew that one day I would return to it. I waited for life to tell me when to put painting aside and write. My crossroads came at the intersection of the Intracoastal Waterway and the Covid pandemic.

Rest assured I did not sell my soul to the devil (Read up on Robert Johnson) but I did spend five years, writing, reading about writing, reading memoirs, researching, re-writing, editing, and designing Uncharted.

The question I ask myself, did I plan for this all along? It started with a degree in English, even though it took me four colleges and ten years to get there. Life interrupted that pursuit a few times. I took creative writing classes in high school and college and I made it into a few of their literary magazines. I worked at two newspapers and two magazines in several capacities – correspondent, photographer, paste-up artist (a job that no longer exists), graphic designer, and circulation.

Just how much of a plan did Saint-Exupéry think a person should have? This coming from the man who wrote, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.” Having a life plan is like vacation planning. A few reservations are in order but planning every minute ruins the fun of it. So, yes, Monsieur I planned but I also left room for living and still I managed to accomplish my goal.

Acknowledgements

When I started to write this book, I thought it was going to be solely about our boat trip. I turned myself into knots trying not to mention the death of my first husband, Rick. The problem of explaining how Tim had years of boating experience and I had none, coupled with our ages, became facts that kept needing explanation. I thought I had completed most of the book when Tim said I should include the events that led me to him. Tim was right.

The cathartic experience of delving into that traumatic time gave me a more thorough understanding of the rhythms of my life. I am grateful to Tim for making that suggestion. It freed me to write what I needed to say. Reliving Rick’s death and our life together in such detail evoked a great deal of sadness, but in the end, it completed the story. 

I also need to thank my family, in particular my son Mike and my brothers Joe, Bob, and Jim along with their wives, Mary Anne, Barbara, and Debbie. They, and a multitude of friends, are the glue that held me together.

Finally, I need to express my gratitude to the Manatee Writers Group, specifically, William Clapper, Dennis Dunigan, Bart Huitema, Michele Knudesen, Dave Pearce, and Ralf Thompson. They pushed me to be better with constructive suggestions and thoughtful feedback. Thank you, Sue Brite, Bob DeMaura, Peg Gabriel, and Karen Kaiser for being Beta readers. Your input helped clear up some rough edges.