I haven’t forgotten you, dear readers, in spite of not communicating with you since my book “Medicine and Miracles in the High Desert” first appeared in print last March—coinciding with the time I was in Baja, Mexico, communing with the grey whales.
I had no idea how intensely involved I would need to be in order to get my book out into the world after publication—unlike bygone days when the publishing company did most of the work for authors.
Even with help from my publicity team, it has still been a lot of work with logistics, social media, setting up readings, travel, interviews, TV appearances, radio talks, podcasts, and articles. Getting the word out has also been expensive. Given that Amazon gives its authors 10% of the retail price of the books they sell, it’s unlikely I’ll ever recoup all my expenses from just the sale of the book.
Learning to use social media for promoting the book has been a necessity. A friend taught me how to use Instagram. This was my first post.
Fortunately, my motive for writing the book didn’t have much relation to thoughts of increasing my income. This book was truly a labor of love—a story that needed to be told no matter what the cost. My hope was that the book would be an uplifting and healing story for these divisive times we live in.
Op Cit Bookstore in DeVargas Mall in Santa Fe. Photo courtesy of Seth Roffman
The book seems to have touched a chord in the readers. The response has been positive to a degree I never dared to imagine. Three major bookstores in Santa Fe and a bookstore in Albuquerque had around one hundred people at each of the readings. I have given 14 readings so far in various venues.
Friends have asked me if I experience stage fright at the readings. Storytelling comes as naturally to me as breathing. I learned how to tell a story through osmosis as a girl, listening to my father tell his riveting war stories at the dinner table. Thankfully I don’t experience stage fright. In fact, I love interacting with the audience. The more excited they get with their tears and laughter, the more excited I get. It’s an invigorating feedback loop.
Reading in front of Natalie Goldberg’s writing retreat at Upaya Zen Center. Natalie has introduced me five times at different reading events. The things she says about me in her introductions are funny.
I never once imagined when I wrote the book that I would end up having fans. Several people who read the book have sent me various gifts, including books they wrote, poems, articles, CDs, and even jewelry. I have a stack of letters and cards, and countless emails from people letting me know how much the book meant to them. I wish I could respond to every single one of these thoughtful and heartfelt messages, but it would be hard for me to do this and still maintain a full-time medical practice.
One of the letters I received was from a man who lived in Alaska. He invited me to spend time with him and his family on the Eagle River in SE Alaska. I was touched by the invitation, even though I won’t be taking him up on his offer. A few days later, I got a handwritten letter from another man in a different part of Alaska, inviting me to spend time with him in the outback!!!
That same week, a man with a nice voice kept calling me on my home phone, asking me to call him back, saying he had to talk to me urgently. My curiosity got the best of me. I called him back after his 5th voice message. He wanted to tell me how excited he was to read the book because my story was similar to some of his experiences when he worked on the reservation at the same time I was there. We reminisced about those days. He became tearful when he talked about his Navajo grandmother who adopted him. He wanted to have regular phone conversations with me to talk about “the old days.” I had a feeling he wanted me to be his long-distance girlfriend. I told him I had no time because I was married—to my medical practice.
A young woman, unknown to me, knocked on my door and asked if I would spend a few minutes talking to her about some big life decisions regarding whether or not to pursue a career in medicine.
Look what appeared on Facebook! My Navajo friends found my book!! Deswood on the left is the late Marshall Tom’s son. Al Henderson, on the right, was a close friend from my days on the reservation.
I’m trying to find a way to get the book published in Europe because I’ve witnessed how enamored many Europeans are with Native Americans—even though some of their notions are romanticized and from a bygone era. I always assumed the strong attraction had to do with Native Americans representing something wild that Europeans no longer had. My German friend said that the attraction was because of the ceremonies that Native Americans perform.
Some of my German friends have generously offered to help me search for an appropriate publisher in Germany.
Taking a break in between recordings for an audio book that I’m narrating.
Filmmaker, Zev Guber, optioned my book to make it into a TV series. His wife, Heidi, was my close friend in high school in Arlington, Virginia. Heidi’s niece has connections with Harpo Studios, Oprah Winfrey’s production studio. The executive producer at Harpo Studios said that they usually only consider bestselling books for movies and TV series. He said I had a good story to tell, but that the filmmaker would have about two minutes to try and convince the producers that the story was worthy of their consideration. We’ll be facing a lot of pressure to make the “treatment” compelling.
Recently I returned from my first book tour on the West Coast.
Day #1, San Francisco
My friend from high school, Susan Illston picked me up at the airport. Susan is now the Honorable Judge Susan Illston, senior judge of the United States District Court of Northern California, appointed by Bill Clinton. I stayed with her and her husband, Jim, a retired judge, in their beautiful home on a hillside overlooking the bay in Sausalito.
Susan was chosen as the “President’s scholar” in her senior year of high school, which meant that she was one of two American students—one boy and one girl—chosen from each state to have their entire college tuition paid for, in honor of their aptitude. To receive her award, Susan traveled to Washington DC and shook President Lyndon Johnson’s hand as she received her award.
Susan joined me on an Easter vacation trip to Paris in our senior year of high school in Germany. We went to visit my very first boyfriend, Daniel Soreau. I blogged about that encounter and what ensued afterward. I changed his name to Jean Pierre, to maintain his privacy. (By the way, he read the blog post and said he enjoyed it very much—fortunately)
The windblown Honorable Judge on Angel Island with the San Francisco Bay in the background.
Day#2 Angel Island
Spent the day hiking on Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay with Susan, Barrett and Danni, and my friend Sally from the 10th grade at Wakefield High in Arlington, Virginia. In those days, Sally had just returned to the US after having lived in Burma, India, and Thailand, where her father had served in the Foreign Service. There were three of us who had spent a significant time abroad and did not fit into the American high school mold—Sally Abbott, Heidi Sparkes who had lived in Paris, and I who had lived in England and was on my way to Germany by the end of the year. The three of us bonded immediately and became friends for life.
Sally is a poet, author, and former professor of women’s studies. In the 10th grade AP English class, Sally recited from memory parts of the Bhagavad Gita. I was enthralled by her exotic experiences and her soulful spirit. My friendship with Sally and Heidi has endured for over half a century.
View of the Golden Gate Bridge from Angel Island.
Barrett’s wife, Danni, who has won our hearts.
Barrett and Danni
Day #3 Book Passage Bookstore in Marin County.
Sixty people turned out, more than I dared to hope, given that I’m not known outside of northern New Mexico. Natalie Goldberg introduced me. She happened to be in the area visiting friends at the time of my reading. The audience seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves and was very responsive to the storytelling.
I saw a couple of my patients who live in the area; I saw a few friends, and friends of friends; and I saw a classmate from the 7th grade at Hampton Roads Academy in Virginia.
Barrett and Danni took me to their apartment on Geary Street in San Francisco where I spent the night.
Day # 4 Ashland, Oregon.
My longtime friend, Paula Baker-Laporte, picked me up at the airport. A few hours later, I gave a reading at a small bookstore called Bloomsbury that evening. Sixty-three people crammed into the tiny space. The audience was fully engaged and enthusiastic.
On the left is Paula Baker-Laporte, former neighbor and co-creator of the Commons co-housing community in Santa Fe, and co-author with me of “Prescriptions for a Healthy House.” On the right is Robert Laporte, Paula’s beloved husband and “Econest” business partner.
Entryway to Paula and Robert’s gorgeous compound that they created themselves, using all natural materials.
Day#4 Pain in the head
In the middle of the night I developed intense pressure in my head from the drop in barometric pressure that happens before weather moves in. Pain medications are not effective at alleviating the pressure. Since my accident over a decade ago, I have learned to accept this frequent and unpleasant phenomenon and have learned to live with it and continue with my life—in spite of it all.
The pain causes a reflexive type of repetitive vomiting. I hated to waste the fabulous soup Paula made with all her freshly picked vegetables from her luscious garden.
I had the luxury of staying in bed most of the day—an extremely rare occurrence for me. Paula contacted an intuitive and highly respected homeopath who gave me Opium 10 M. Within an hour the pain and pressure lifted, enough so that I could attend the soirée that Paula and Robert had arranged for that evening. The house filled with their closest friends. Fortunately, I was able to rise to the occasion and be sociable with their many interesting and likeable friends and neighbors.
Staying in Paula and Robert’s home gave my body the same restorative feeling as being in nature. The all natural building materials–dirt, wood, straw, bamboo, wool, cotton—felt both deeply calming and uplifting.
Day #5 Roaming Around
I had a perfectly lovely day roaming around in the garden picking fresh vegetables and fruit, exploring the property dotted with their iconic “econest” buildings, taking a long morning walk in the woods, indulging in a fabulous hour-long facial in town—a generous gift from Robert—and then going to yoga class in the evening.
One end of Paula’s huge garden, with a large variety of vegetables, berries, and all sorts of exotic edibles. It was tempting to just stay out there and graze. Paula made fabulous food creations.
I forgot how wonderful it feels to hike in dense wooded areas.
Day #6 Portland
I flew to Portland in the afternoon to stay with “my” nurse, beloved Grace, from my days as a mainstream doctor at Lovelace Medical Center in Santa Fe. That evening I gave a reading and book signing at Two Rivers Bookstore. Ewen Harrison, my former neighbor whom I mentored on his path to becoming a medical doctor, gave an enthusiastic introduction.
After the reading was over, some people stayed on to sit around and talk. It was the night of the debates, so there was less of a turn out compared to the other readings. But the people who showed up were warm and friendly. Grace brought refreshments for everyone.
Over the next two days, I spent reconnecting with Grace and her husband Bob, and seeing two of her four children, now grown adults with their own children. It felt so good to be with them, it was hard to leave when my time was up.
I’m surrounded by Grace and Bob with the Columbia River in the background. The scenery was spectacular.
In the Columbia Gorge, we saw a series of waterfalls. It was all so beautiful, I could have spent days and days exploring the area.
Wish you were here to share this wonderland!
If you’re wondering what happens next in the book’s journey, I can honestly say I don’t know. I am hoping that the book will sprout wings and fly out into the world wide and far by word of mouth, and from sharing the book with friends, and no longer depend so heavily on my efforts.
I would like to find a literary agent who could help me get a reputable publishing house to take on my memoir series. Do you know of anyone you could recommend?
I would also like to find time to continue blogging. And I’d like to start working on my second memoir which will be about the next phase on the seemingly mythological path—full of metaphorical demons, dragons and angels—toward finding meaning and purpose in life.
Thank you for coming on this trip with me.