From the time I was a young girl, I wanted to be a published author. The reason was simply that I wanted the words I wrote to exist after I died. Lest you think that was morbid, let me explain.
I have always been a voracious reader and much of what I consumed was from authors who were no longer living. What an amazing way to continue a presence in the world long after one has left the earth. My thoughts and beliefs were significantly formed by those who came before me. Those whom I could never meet on the earthly plane but were clearly part of my life.
While all this reading and inner shaping was taking place, I was living a different life externally. I recall during my 30s creating a title for my memoir should I write one: On the Outside Living Within. All who knew me saw the “outside” – the person who navigated career and relationships in the manner others expected. No one, including those whom I loved and loved me, knew who I truly was inside.
And so, in 2004 my life profoundly changed. I made a life choice that provided me with a newfound freedom to express myself inside out for the first time. I was sitting in a carrel in the corner of the library in Fredonia, NY writing simply to write, and found myself penning the phrase, “I feel different now.” Somehow that turned into, “Sadie was different now,” and the opening line of Sadie and Charley was born.
Sadie is a raccoon for two main reasons. First, I simply have always loved raccoons. Second, I believe animals have an inner wisdom to which we humans can only aspire. Unless humans destroy our planet for all habitation, I foresee the animal kingdom continuing long after we are gone. As I began writing the story of Sadie I found her speaking to me – the magic of writing is that the words can form and it feels as if they were placed within you – not as if you actually created the flow.
This book was a labor of love and trust finding its way to completion over a fifteen-year period. The characters evolved in my mind and I simply wrote what came to me. I hope their words find some meaning for you should you choose to read them. I desire that Sadie and Charley will provide something for others to contemplate long after I’m gone – I am in awe of the possibility that the words will survive my life on this planet.
So, if you choose to read Sadie and Charley Finding Their Way, please know that I am honored that you are allowing it to enter your life.
Life has infinite possibilities – embrace it.