Focus on The Last Chapters

I did not grow up wanting to be a writer. But life had other plans.

Since leaving the corporate world twenty-one years ago, I have written countless articles, courses, and two books. The first book - Lead with Your Heart, Creating a Life of Love, Compassion, and Purpose (2014) was published by Hierophant. The second - The Real Conversation Jesus Wants Us to Have, A Call to Bravery, Peace, and Love was published by Wm B. Eerdmans (2025). You may have noticed the eleven year gap between the two.

Writing is not an easy endeavor. And a book is not easy, on steriods. At least not for me.

Books are time consuming and emotionally draining and you still have to clean the toilets, cook, take care of aging parents, and make sure the dog and you are fed and watered. When in divine writing flow time does seem to stand still. But in reality the dogs, and your bladder, will interrupt that flow (pun intended). Writing is a start, stop, start again, stop again process. Certainly when writing a 200+ page book.

First, there is the collection and organization of thoughts about a subject I would like to dive into deeply. I so wish I could write fiction because it seems easier to write a fantasy than focus on real life. Maybe for a subsequent book I will bravely enter that world. However for now I remain most comfortable sharing my heart about things I know. My successes, failures, observations, what I’ve learned, and the experiences that taught me about myself and the world around me.

Second, to writing a book is composing individual chapters - or collections of thoughts on topics that go with the overall theme of the manuscript. Third, there is extensive rewriting and editing. Fourth, editing by my personal editor. Fifth, is securing a publisher (the latest book took two years) which is an exercise in patience and a staunch refusal to allow myself to get discouraged. Sixth, is giving over control to a series of editors who hack away at my baby, cutting eighty-six pages from the current book. Ouch! But having a publisher is in itself an act of letting go which is humbling for ego.

Seventh, the book is published after over seven years of hard work. Eighth, the work of endless self-promotion begins. Unless one is a celebrity the author is responsible for generating the vast majority of book sales and overall attention to the work.

I have a love/hate relationship with writing, whether it is a book or this short essay you are reading now. When I am in the zone and heart-thoughts flow freely, there is nothing (other than walking Max in the forest) that gives me greater joy. When there is a writing block I search the internet for homes in a village or hamlet in the county of Shropshire, England. I retreat into a fantasy world of imagining that the last chapters of my life are spent sitting on a small deck behind a thatched cottage getting to know the fat sheep in my neighbor’s paddock.

Max very much likes this fantasy too.

No matter where I land for the last chapters of this life I really can’t imagine a time when I don’t write. Although I did not study creative writing, and actually made a C in the only college course I took in the subject, it seems I have a natural propensity for expressing my heart in ways that resonate with some people and irritate others. My latest book manages to accomplish both. I thrive on asking us to think about the often hard to think about.

I don’t mean to cause irritation but I don’t mind being the pebble in our shoe since I truly believe we are alive to better ourselves. To do so we must ask ourselves questions and genuinely seek honest answers. Which is something I rather like doing.

But as I approach (September 4) and turn sixty-nine, I’m somehwat frustrated by the uncertainty of the legacy I am leaving to the world.

Mom, who passed away August 1, 2024 at almost 100 and dad who is almost 102 years old, August 26, 2025, leaves two daughters, a granddaughter, grandson, and six great grandsons. Since I do not have children the legacy I am leaving is not in the form of descendants. I must consider my books and the work I’ve done in creating Romancing Your Soul my legacy to the world. But there are days when the body of my life’s work doesn’t seem nearly enough.

Many days it feels like something big, and yet not visible to me, is missing. It’s frustrating not knowing what that something is. Maybe it’s much simpler than I’m making it. Perhaps listing the top things I have accomplished in life so far will put the final chapters of what I want to write, say, do, into sharp perspective.

To date: under graduate degree in education. Master’s degree in leadership. Author and writer. Twenty-five year in for-profit and non-profit management. Rock-n-roll drummer, classical musician, and sports star. I’ve been (and remain) a picker-upper-of trash. I move turtles out of the road. I’m a friend, aunt, and great aunt. I’ve been a pet parent to twelve rescue dogs. Avid gardener, pretty good cook, grower of beautiful flowers, amateur landscape and interior designer. Daughter, niece, sister, and sister-in-law. Pretty good auto detailer (semi-retired), flagstone courtyard builder (retired), and soft hearted lover of the natural world (never retire). Was an excellent employee and better boss. Activist, good listener, and avid believer in the best of us.

I don’t know how many chapters are left to write in my life story. God hasn’t shared that information with me. However October 9, 2040 came into my consciousness the other day for absolutely no reason. Yes I’ve made note. However what the original creative consciousness did whisper is that I have the ability to make the last chapters of my life the best part of my life.

Not one of us knows how much life we are given. As such I believe it’s up to us to do our best to leave a legacy we are proud of and one for which we are remembered fondly in the hearts and minds of those we leave behind.

Today is a new opportunity and I am determined to purposefully write each line of the remaining paragraphs that will become the last chapters of my life. I encourage you to do the same.

And if you’re really brave write a novel. Then tell me the secret to doing so.