Today we get to meet non-fiction author, Veronica Arnold, who has self published an inspiring story. Read on.
Welcome to An Indie
Adventure, Veronica. Tell us, what inspired
you to write your book “It’s Okay To Be Me?”
In the summer
of 2011 I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Before that I had always been healthy, so this came as a shock. I tell people, though, that if you have to
have cancer, you should do it the way I did.
My tumor was small, surgery took care of it, and I didn’t have to have
chemo or radiation. I took expensive
supplements from an Oregon clinic for a year before the money ran out to pay
for them, but that was it.
The inspiration to write my book came from all the people
who poured out their love to me during that scary, vulnerable time. My entire life, I was always sending out
radar, trying to figure out what people wanted from me so I could give them
that so they would like me. This cancer
journey brought me to a place where all I could do was survive. I could give nothing to those around me—for a
few weeks after surgery I couldn’t even stay awake when people came to visit
me. But still they came and helped and
loved my blogs. It began to dawn on me
that it really was okay to simply be me.
I didn’t have to try to be someone others would like—it was enough just
to be me. This idea was so revelational
that I had to write a book about it.
I had a good childhood—no abuse or neglect or poverty. As writers we think there has to be some
terrible conflict, or where is the story?
I thought perhaps there might be others like me who had not suffered
terribly, yet still endured a lifelong crisis of identity. Maybe they could benefit from the lessons I
learned.
What people helped
you the most in getting this book published?
In the spring
semester of 2012 I took a Creative Nonfiction Writing course at Front Range
Community College in Fort Collins, where I live. It was there that I submitted the first very
rough draft of what would become my book.
My teacher, Kerri Mitchell, and my classmates gave me invaluable
critiques. That summer I submitted my
manuscript to an Inspiring Voices writing contest, but didn’t win
anything. Still, I felt strongly that
the book needed to be published. I submitted my revised manuscript to the
follow-up Creative Nonfiction Writing course at FRCC. Then I self-published through Inspiring
voices in November of that year.
My classmates gave me the technical critiques I needed to
polish my work; other friends gave their own critiques; and my husband
encouraged me all along the way.
Are you planning on
writing other stories, books? If so what
kind?
I briefly
tried my hand at fiction, and maybe at some point I will be able to do that,
but not now. When I was a child I longed
to write stories, but I could never get past the point at which I had to come
up with names for my characters. The
only names I could think of sounded stupid to me. As an adult I realized that to write good
fiction you have to do a lot of
research. I can think of interesting
plot lines, but I have no idea how to fill in the background with credible
descriptions of the way things work. And
at this point the research part escapes me.
I love to write about my life because that’s what I know,
and I think it’s interesting. In my
Creative Nonfiction Writing course, our first writing prompt was to write a
couple paragraphs about how our parents’ first date might have looked. I realized I had no idea where my parents met
or anything about their courtship. I
didn’t want that to be the case for my children, so I wanted to write about
their dad and I. So presently I am
working on a book about our courtship, which took place when the man who would
become my husband and I worked at a mental institution, and our ensuing
marriage. My husband, Jerry, came up
with the title, “Love In the Looney Bin.”
I realized that what all of life is about, fundamentally, is a search
for love; and as crazy as life is, we all live in a looney bin called planet
Earth. So maybe a lot of people would be
able to relate.
Recently Jerry and I
wrote a short story about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. When I told a
friend at church about that, he looked confused and said, “Uh, don’t we already
have that story?” Well, yeah, but what
did it really feel like to wake up as a fully formed adult in that perfect
world? Did Adam come pre-programmed with
language, or was there a learning curve?
When Eve offered him the fruit from the forbidden tree, did Adam just
stand there dumbly and eat of it with her?
Or did he try to dissuade her, or try to correct the damage once she bit
into the fruit? I wanted to understand the scene better, so I had to write
it. Then Jerry basically rewrote it,
preserving the basic idea but adding words that brought it to life. We hope to publish it soon on Amazon’s
Kindle.
Two semesters ago I took an Old Testament survey course in
which we had discussion board questions every week. I would like to expand those essays and make
them more personal than what we were allowed to do in class. The Bible fascinates me, and I would love to address
some of the knotty questions that come up with research and personal examples. (I do love that kind of research!)
Where would you have
someone start looking for help with the crisis you've faced?
My first
resource was a book I had read a year or so earlier, about a young woman who
was diagnosed with stage four aggressive breast cancer. She had surgery right away, but had to wait
for chemo and radiation, which her doctor insisted she must have, until she
gave birth (she was 38 weeks along when she was diagnosed). While she waited,
she and her husband did extensive research on cancer treatments. As a result, she rejected the recommended
treatments and instead went with supplements from the same clinic I
subsequently used for my supplements.
She has been cancer free now for many years. The book was, “You Did What??” by Holly and
Patrick Quinn.
I also highly recommend the web site of an author friend,
Sandi Rog, http://www.sandirog.com,
where she tells her cancer story. When a
particularly awful cancer reappeared after going into remission, she discovered
B17 shots and went with that rather than the treatment she had received the
first time around. That cured her cancer
without killing her.
As you will learn from my book, though, my very first line
of defense was Jesus Christ. The Lord
had prepared me spiritually for my crisis, and when it came, my response was,
“Bring it on!” I was eager to see the
miracles God would perform to bring me through this. No matter how effective the traditional or
nontraditional treatments for the disease, a crisis like this can rock your
world, because in truth, you are facing the very real possibility of
death. I would have been defeated from
the outset if I had not been able to confidently place my trust in the God who
holds all of creation and every moment of my life in His hands.
Would you share some
Words of inspiration that you've used to help you through each day?
I have been
memorizing scripture regularly for many years, and those words are the ones
that come up the most when I need encouragement. When I faced retirement from 30 years as a
rural route mail carrier, the Lord addressed my fear of the unknown with Isaiah 41:10 “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be
dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold
you with my righteous right hand.”
In a Biblical
counseling course I took after I retired, I learned that I am not powerful
enough to screw up the plan God has for me.
That has been a very comforting thought ever since.
When I was returning
home from getting my biopsy, the sign on a church near our home gave me a
strong weapon against my fear: “I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me,”
from Psalm 23.
My husband once said, “Ultimately,
freedom is the right to choose right.
While it also includes the right to choose wrong, that choice ultimately
leads to the loss of freedom." That
has served to help keep me on the straight and narrow road more than once.
Give us a brief
summary of “It’s Okay To Be Me” :
A cancer diagnosis is never
welcome, but for me it was a call to battle rather than a temptation to drown
in despair. My response was, “Bring it on!” I wanted to see what
God would do with this.
My book chronicles the very
personal account of my early years and the factors that contributed to my
feelings of rejection. While not a victim of abusive, alcoholic, or
drug-using parents–or even of abject poverty–indwelling sin twisted my
experience, convincing me that I was terribly flawed and unworthy.
But God was at work in my
life, calling out to me and holding me close even at my most rebellious
times. It was when I was at my most vulnerable point, fearing a possible
death sentence from cancer, that I finally got the message that I was
infinitely valuable and eternally and unconditionally loved by the very Creator
of the universe.
Walk with me through the
revelational process of finding my true worth. Discover the ways God
prepared me for my most difficult journey of breast cancer and continually
supported me through the stress of the challenging decisions, surgery, and
recovery. Read how I discovered, for the first time in sixty-five years,
why it really was okay to be me.
Buy Links:
Bio:
I am Veronica Arnold, author of the book, “It’s Okay To Be Me: A Journey to God’s Heart by Way of Cancer.” In 2011 I was diagnosed with breast cancer, subsequently having a mastectomy and breast reconstruction. My book is the story of that journey. The take-away message for me was that it really is okay to be me. That message was so revelational that I had to write a book about it.
It occurred to me that I might not be the only one with identity issues. I have been learning that what we believe about ourselves determines the way we live. God’s Word tells us how He feels about us–if we could just agree with Him in the deep place of our hearts, we could experience His love and grace on every level of our lives. The question is, how do we come to that place of agreement? I hope my book will help you answer that question.
I live in Fort Collins, Colorado, with my husband of 47 years, Jerry Arnold. Our two adult children and their spouses, children, and assorted pets live in nearby towns. I worked for 30 years as a rural route mail carrier for the US Postal Service (maybe someday I’ll tell you that story!) and retired in 2004. In 2007 I took a two-year Biblical counseling course through Re-Connect Ministries in Greeley, Colorado. In 2009 I began taking courses at Front Range Community College, working toward a master’s degree in counseling. In the spring of 2012 I took a Creative Nonfiction Writing course there, the result of which was this book.
I have always wanted to learn things, but while I was working I never had the time, money, or self-discipline to go to school. Taking one course at a time I may never make it to that counseling degree, but I am loving the journey.
In my blog I hope to share with you some of the cool things I’m learning along the way. I hope you’ll join the on-going conversation and, with me, never stop learning and growing.
For comments or questions please email me, or add a comment to any of the blog posts. I look forward to hearing from you.
Find Veronica at:
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