They call it the Great Valley Bookfest. I have my own reasons for agreeing that it’s a great valley; my parents were born there. Also, if it weren’t for this event, scheduled for October 19, 2013, I would probably still be working on Eternal River, Volume III. Instead, I did a number of months of running before the wolves, with a big push at the end so the book would be back from the printing house in time for the event.
So this is a dual announcement. It’s to tell you the book is finally finished, and that it, and I, will be in Manteca for the festival.
The title of my talk is “Voices, Choices, and the Blessings of Adversities.” With five books on my family’s history and three on blindness, guide and other service dogs, it was the only way I could cover the spectrum of my writing.
Voices: each one is valuable and worth hearing. Certain minorities tend to be rather quiet. One group is Second Generation Chinese Americans. The other is the blind. In my books, I let them speak for themselves. I want to preserve their unique personalities and ways of expressing their truths. Especially when it comes to the Second Generation, I don’t want their voices, their presence, their essence to be lost.
Choices: How did decisions affect the future? When the FDA shut my father down three times, what did he do instead of giving up on treating impossible conditions? When The Depression took my father’s father’s considerable wealth, how did that help my father develop advancements in electronics that eventually enabled the invention of microcurrent? When my sight plummeted to four percent, how did that lead to some of the greatest healings of my life?
I’ll have more to say about my latest book, but for now, I just wanted to let you know that it is finally finished, twenty or so years after I started it when my father nearly died in 1993 and my whole life changed in ways I could not have imagined.
Hope to see you at the festival. Here is a link and information. I’ll be speaking at 3:00 p.m. on Stage A., and the rest of the time, I’ll be at my table with Hedy, my guide dog, and my good friend Nancy Cardoza. Come by and say hi.
Meanwhile, here’s a sneak preview. Click on the cover to go to the book page where you can read the Foreword by my hero, JoAnn Levy, and my Introduction with the chills, spills, and thrills that went into the adventure of writing this book.
6 Comments
Kathy Rothstein
October 1, 2013 - 8:37 PMDear Carolyn,
I have not known you long, but what a great impact you have had on my life! Congratulations on completing your latest book … I look forward to getting to know you better within its pages. I am confident you will touch many lives, both with your formal talk and quietly at your table, at the Great Festival. You are in my prayers.
Love,
kathy
Carolyn
October 1, 2013 - 10:21 PMThank you for your prayers, Kathy. It has been my privilege to watch Jesus do miracles in your family. As for getting to know me, by the time you’ve read the five books on my family and me, you will know a whole lot about all of us. Then there are the guide dog books where you can get a different view of the inside of my life, and more about Hedy than you could imagine, including all twenty-eight days at guide dog school. The best part of my life you already know–and share. What a blessing that we are sisters in the Lord! Thank you for sharing my life and letting me share yours. Blessings, Carolyn & Hedy
Mary E. Trimble
October 1, 2013 - 6:36 PMCarolyn, congratulations on this latest achievement. I can’t wait to read Eternal River, Vol !!!. Good luck at the Great Valley Bookfest–your talk sounds intriguing. I know it will be met with enthusiasm.
What a gal!
Mary
Carolyn
October 1, 2013 - 7:59 PMMary, you who have written so many adventuresome and meaningful books on your own life, plus reviews every month so that others’ books may be better known (including the ones you did for me)–you are one of the most encouraging people I know. Thank you for your wonderful support.
Love,
Carolyn
Alice Trego
October 1, 2013 - 5:50 PMWhat a wonderful surprise to hear all that’s good in your life now, Carolyn! Sending you a hearty congratulations on finishing Eternal River Volume III, being at the Great Valley Bookfest and speaking about those things near and dear to your heart. Wish I could be there, but I will be…in spirit!
Kudos to you, my friend.
Alice
Carolyn
October 1, 2013 - 7:56 PMAlice, you’re a bit far. Manteca is a long way from Utah! I always feel your support, though, and your prayers. Keep working on your own books, and someday we’ll see each other again, face to face, books in hand.
Love,
Carolyn