What will it look like?
Good morning, Friends:
I took a much-needed break from marketing last weekend. It was good to get some sea air, seafood and see (do you see what I did there) one of my favorite places in California, the Monterey and Carmel area. There is so much to learn about what others do to get their projects seen. Why write your story to help others if no one can see it? My brain often feels like the overused sponge that still has just a little life left just before it gets tossed. The ocean always brings a calmness and leaves me with a blank canvas. I always feel more ready to go back to work.
The interview with Ashley Bratcher and her team at Simple Jane Films was a lot of fun. As mentioned last week, she is the producer for an upcoming film, Pharma – The Movie. It is based on the true story of Dr. Frances Kelsey and her fight to keep the drug thalidomide out of the United States. “Her heroic efforts are an example of what one person can do to prevent disaster and change the course of history”, says Ashley. I couldn’t agree with this statement more. I am honored to be a very small part of what is coming next. I would have never known about the campaign to help survivors affected by this tragedy if I hadn’t been doing research for my book. Ashley was kind enough to put some ink on my project and continues to bring light to this horrific part of our history through her upcoming movie.
You would think I would know more about thalidomide after 65 years on this planet, but I never thought my differences were related at all. My mother believed a pill she took for morning sickness caused my birth defects, but never thought it was thalidomide because it wasn’t FDA approved in the United States. She never knew about the secret clinical trial done here and the disastrous results it caused over 20,000 people. She told me babies affected in Europe had more serious deformities rather than my issue of being underdeveloped. Since my birth defect was less obvious, she assumed it wasn’t thalidomide. The most difficult and frustrating part is not being able to ask my mother more questions as she died of cancer in 1994. Did she receive the medication in an unmarked envelope as so many others did? Or was she given pills labeled with a different name like Kevadon, Contergan or Distaval? What I have realized is there are more issues than I originally thought. The most obvious is partial absence of my left limb. The underdeveloped left side – shoulder, back and leg wasn’t always as obvious. As we get older, things become more obvious. It wasn’t until I was fitted for hearing aids that I learned my ear canals are abnormal as well. My sister, born 17 months after me, died from all internal issues like malformed kidneys and an underdeveloped heart. My mother took the same medication. These are things I am determined to get to the bottom of. Unfortunately, I must do this without my mother.
There is so much on my plate right now. I could allow the future to be overwhelming, but I am committed to doing what I can to shed light on such an important issue, finding balance every day, and looking forward. Although I have the next book outlined, I feel compelled to stay with this project until it “feels” like I’ve taken it as far as it wants to go. Right now it feels like a puzzle. The pieces have all been dumped out of the box and sorted. The edges are all put together to build its frame. Now I have to fill in the body of the puzzle. That means braving the difficult parts. I can’t wait to see what happens…
Writing a book has gotten so much bigger than pouring my life onto pages for others to see. It has given me so many opportunities to help others. I am grateful and humbled by the new direction this life is taking me. This may be why I’m here.
And speaking of book…
Big news this week!
Save the date!
Meet and Greet/Book Signing
March 9, 2023
5:30 p.m.
More details to follow in upcoming newsletters! See you next week!
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