Excuse this minor trumpet note, but I've been told by quite a few people that the Kindle edition, out for two years now, has really helped them. So - with the encouragement and help of another Work teacher and of my spiritual advisor - I decided to go ahead and publish my book in paperback form.
It's now available to buy from Amazon, and I've priced it as cheaply as possible so that it may reach the people who will benefit from it.
The Kindle edition is free of charge if you belong to the Kindle library programme, and the new print edition (revised and updated) will soon also be available on Kindle.
Who might benefit from reading it?
Anyone interested in the Work; the Twelve Steps; Catholic teachings on suffering; the Sufis; alcoholism and other addictions; and disability.
Anyone with an addiction problem or who has a family member or friend with such a devastating illness.
Anyone who lives with disability and pain.
Anyone in the Work or in the Twelve Step programmes, or who is interested in the Christian teachings on suffering and how all these paths may be connected.
I've already had great feedback on all these issues, and several people have pointed out that my memoir is unique in combining so many different areas and explaining how they mesh together.
It's a very personal story, and writing it was a true labour of love. Love for the Work, for the Twelve Steps, for Christian teachings on redemptive suffering, and above all, love for my family.
Writing honestly about oneself is a very difficult task. But it's very necessary - if a memoir is meant to help people, it can only do so when the author includes her "warts and all". So that is what I have done, and I hope it will reach all those who may be helped by what I've written.
Of course, years of being totally honest with myself in my Work observations, and honest with my family and friends about my experiences, have helped me write truthfully and with understanding.
There's no point in any form of autobiography, including a blog, unless the writer is prepared to tell the truth. Otherwise, he or she might just as well take out an ad! Post a selfie!
But in being so honest, all of us who strive to follow the path of truthful self-disclosure with the aim of helping others are bound to come in for some criticism from formatory thinkers, and those who haven't managed to break free of their judgmental, critical I's.
So be it. Just as there's nothing to be gained by going to an AA meeting or sharing your Work observations unless you tell the truth, so there's no point in trying to make oneself look good in a memoir or a blog. Everyone will see through it, and you will gain nothing. Nor will anyone else.
So, if you're interested in reading my sometimes painful and "brutally honest" (in the words of one reviewer) memoir, please either buy it cheaply as a paperback, or download it for free.
I'm trusting that the Work and Conscious Humanity will see that it falls into the hands of those who may gain insight from reading it. Therefore, this is the only notice that you will see. I'm not interested in making money from my writing or in becoming famous. I've already achieved recognition in my career as a journalist, under various noms de plume to preserve my anonymity and that of my family.
My sole aim writing this memoir was to tell my story and share my understanding, so that others may be helped.
If you haven't read it, I hope you will. And if you know anyone who might benefit from reading it, then please pass it on to them.
And thank you for reading this post!
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