Today I have a very special guest with an incredibly different kind of story. Because this book contains such a poignant subject I will let her share it with you as well as the story behind the story and what prompted her to write Stormy Weather.
Please join me as I welcome my friend and fellow author, Nancy O'Berry and her amazing touching story, Stormy Weather. Red Rose Publishing will release this book on November 26, Thanksgiving Day, 2009.
Thank you, Kaye. I'm so happy to be here and to share my story, Stormy Weather with everyone.
Did you know that by the end of this year it's estimated that over 1.3 million women and men will receive this from their doctor, "I'm sorry, the test results show that its cancer."
Nothing strikes more terror than those words. My mother heard them alone when I was away in college. I don't know if she was ashamed to tell me or if she didn't want to admit it, but she went through the surgery and the recovery with the help of her older sister who had been through it 15 years before.
Thirty years ago, there weren't offers of reconstruction. My mom and her sister wore weighted bras to keep their shoulders from rounding. I know my aunt went through radiation, cobalt, chemo therapy. My mother never mentioned having any of that. Then seven nearly eight years ago, her breast cancer returned, but not in her other breast. The cancer this time had changed its cell pattern and tumors began in her mouth. This time, she heard those words with me at her side.
For more than a year we battled them, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying, but she and her younger sister are two of the biggest hero's I've ever met. My mother at 82, did not survive the complications with this last cancer, but she never lost her dignity. Now, her last remaining sister is waging her own valiant battle. That strong will to survive is a testament to how they were raised and dignity my grandmother instilled.
My latest book, Stormy Weather is dedicated to them and other members of my inner circle that have battled and won against an insidious disease that doesn't care if you are rich, poor, black or white. I am honored that the local chapter of Susan G. Komen has picked up this ebook and soon to be print book with the proceeds going to fight breast cancer.
Breast cancer is not just something that happens in October, it's something these brave people fight daily. It's something, I am sure to face myself. So , ladies, gentlemen do those monthly breast exams. Prevention is our best resource until this disease can be removed from our vocabulary.
Here's a blurb and excerpt from Stormy Weather.
As a woman, Lauren Phelps has suffered the worst life can throw at her. The loss of her breast, the rejection of her husband, a divorce can she pick up the shattered threads of her life and continue?
Cole McGuire met Lauren Phelps through a mutual friend, his mother. When Lauren took a medical leave of absence, he wondered if he would ever see her again. When she returned to Teague and Marshalls, he made sure she was transferred to his office. Now divorced, he wondered if he stood a chance to woo her.
Can Lauren learn to love again after the storm?
Read the excerpt...
Little by little the gauze fell away to reveal a breast complete with areola and nipple. Her immediate reaction was to run her hands to the fullness and touch the flesh that appeared pink and rosy. Her breath rushed from her lungs as she traced the swell. It had no feeling. Her hands touched the skin, but she didn’t feel the uniqueness of her left bosom in comparison to her right.
“It should look the same,” a voice from the door whispered.
She didn’t know if it was modesty or fear someone would see her like this, but Lauren pulled the paper gown up over her shoulder, the burn of heat trapping in her cheeks.
“I-I couldn’t wait,” she mumbled, trying to scrambling to retrieve the bandages that a few moments before covered the rebuilding of her left side.
A hand touched her shoulder. Instead of restricting her movement, it offered sympathy as only another woman could. “It’s ok, Lauren. You are not the first woman to feel the need to know.”
Only when tissues were shoved into her empty hands did she realize she was crying.
“Please, look if you want. I want to check the progress of our surgery.”
Lauren dabbed her eyes. The mascara she had so carefully applied now coated the tissue.
“Hold out your arms, please,” the physician said.
Raising her arms, Lauren listened to the rustle of paper as the doctor slid the drape around to the side so that she could see her handiwork. In the mirror across from the examining table, she watched with detached emotion while Dr. Barbara Felton lifted Lauren’s right breast to measure the weight against the reconstructed one on the left. Goose pimples rose on her right side. The doctor’s hands were cold.
“You should be well pleased. The surgery seems to be quite a success.”
“Yes, I am,” she replied in a soft voice with a twinge of hesitance. “Pleased, that is.”
“I hear a but.” The good doctor stepped back.
Lauren readjusted the paper covering her body, lending her some measure of modesty in spite of all she’d lost due to her illness. Her uncertainty was brief, yet it seemed to acknowledge the doctors astute insight into what she was feeling.
“But?” Dr. Felton asked again, this time allowing her eyebrow to arch toward the spiked bangs of her stylish short bob.
“But,” Lauren began with a sigh, “it’s hard to feel. I mean, it seems like it’s just a pound of flesh there.”
“Yes, that’s true.” The doctor pulled up a chair. “But to anyone else they would never know just how tough this year has been on you.” Reaching out, she touched her patient’s hand. “Lauren, you had cancer. You’ve been through a mastectomy and three rounds of chemotherapy. You are a survivor.”
As the doctor spoke, Lauren looked at the reflection before her and felt she didn’t know the woman she saw there. Gone was the dark blonde hair that had graced her head and swung to the middle of her back. Her crown and glory, long since fallen out when she’d spent hours hugging the commode in the hospital after the bags of drugs were empty. Instead, a fine mound of baby tuff glistened across her scalp. She ran her hand across the new locks.
“It will come back,” the doctor’s hushed voice comforted her, “as lovely as before.”
Please note, this book contains frank discussions on breast cancer and reconstruction. The money raised from this book goes to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Tidewater chapter. I have signed over my royalties to raise money for the cure of cancer. Won't you join me is stopping this disease. ~Nancy O'Berry, author~
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You can purchase your copy of Stormy Weather from
Red Rose Publishing on November 26.
Be sure to visit Nancy O'Berry at her Website and check out Romancing The Blog as well.
Thank you, Nancy for being here and for sharing your story with us. What a wonderful and generous thing you are doing. Good Luck!
I hope you enjoy the entertainment of the wonderful Billie Holliday and her version of Stormy Weather as you read this blog post!
Kaye
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