A Miraculous Shift

Nancy & I made a big decision last month. Our inventory of Living Consciously, Dying Gracefully: A Journey with Cancer and Beyond was getting low so we needed to print more books. But how many—2000? 3000? 4000?

As we edged into a five-figures price tag (we pay all book production costs), we gulped hard and put off the decision. Then Nancy talked with a friend who was part of her Living in Process training group. Carolyn said, “You know what I’d do? Print lots and give a bunch away. It’s the best way to spread the word.”

In a flash we knew that we should print 4000 and give books to agencies dealing with cancer, illness, living consciously, dying, and grieving. We (mostly I) had been so hung up on needing to break even on publishing the book that we (I) had forgotten the most important thing: Diane’s message of inspiration and hope. What better way to share Diane’s wisdom than to put the book into the hands of people who work with the ill and the dying!

We made the decision a week before we were to leave for California. With only one book event scheduled for our ten days there, the trip hardly seemed worth the effort. (One planned radio interview had fallen through.) Within 24 hours of deciding to donate books to agencies, three events sprang up.

My sister, Vicki, let us know that a class at the California Institute of Integral Studies was interested in a visit from us. We met with the teacher after we arrived, and that evening we spoke about Diane’s cancer journey to her Integrative Health Sciences class.

Next the program director of the Women’s Cancer Resource Center in Oakland invited us to visit the center. She also told us about the Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic. We left a copy of Living Consciously, Dying Gracefully with each agency.

And, finally, we learned about the Bay Area Breast Cancer Navigation Conference, for people who help those diagnosed with cancer navigate the medical system. The coordinator of the conference invited us to set up a table, and we gave away 40 copies! (Actually, my sister, Vicki and I attended as Nancy was sick that day.)

Nancy & I marvel at how once we let go of our financial concerns, opportunities to share Diane’s journey opened up. The miracles continue!

Becky Bohan