If you saw The Last Lecture given by Dr. Randy Pausch, then you understand part of the story behind this book. Randy passed away in 2008 from pancreatic cancer, leaving Jai a widow with three young children. This is her story.
I've not read all of it yet, but I know from reading the Foreward I'm going to get a lot out of this book.
Hopefully she will not mind my sharing a paragraph that has already spoken to me:
"On the down side, I'm not able to put my past behind me completely. My years with Randy get brought up in some way, shape or form every day. It could be an e-mail from a pancreatic cancer advocacy group or someone recognizing my name that resurrects my past. Three and a half years after Randy's death I still suffer from nightmares, talking in my sleep as my subconscious relives the most traumatic moments during that very trying time in my life. My new husband, Rich, wakes me from my nightmares, quiets my sleep talk, and soothes me back to sleep. It's not the way I wanted to start a new chapter in my life. It's not the happy Hollywood ending I was hoping for, but I know my story doesn't end with this book."
Having been through the nightmares myself, I completely understand. Completely. I know it does become less frequent with time (at least it did with me), but yesterday morning I had a visit from Decker that brought back a lot of the fears and left me weeping with pain I didn't realize I still had. August 14th made the 12 year anniversary of Decker's death, so it's been a while for me, but there are times when something catches me completely off guard.
Hopefully things will get better for Jai. I'm thrilled that she has met someone to share her life with, and it is someone who understands there is still some pain involved from everything she experienced with Randy.
A few articles:
Books For Better Living
JAAPA
ABC News
No comments:
Post a Comment