[tweetthis]Have you ever read a book and felt like you just met a new friend? [/tweetthis] That’s how I felt as I read Cathie Weir’s memoir, I’ll See You Later.
Cathie and I are nearly the same age, we both grew up in Michigan, and we both got married at the super-mature age of nineteen. And, we’re both part of Home Town Reads, she in Kalamazoo, and me in Chicago.
The title of Cathie’s book, I’ll See You Later, comes from the salutation she and her family shared before undergoing a life-threatening double lung transplant surgery. Cathie first “heard” the salutation from her dad in a dream.
Cathie’s memoir let me know her feelings of despair, her love for her family, and most of all, her undying, sometimes baudy, sense of humor. Cathie’s memoir is the second memoir I’ve read in the past year where the author found herself in a medical cacophony, relying self-knowledge and gut feel to get her through a terrifying situation. Not to mention my own experience with CoCo’s osteomyelitis. (If you want to learn more about that, just enter osteomyelitis in the search panel. But not now, read on about Cathie, first.) Feel free to click on the Amazon link to purchase Cathie’s book. (I may get a penny or two, if you do.)
I hope I get a chance to meet Cathie in person someday. I pass through her hometown of Kalamazoo, MI on my way to Mom’s. Cathie’s book from Amazon.
Here’s a few things I learned about Cathie from our interview:
What are some things you’d like to share about your personal life? The first few chapters explore my background. Married to Rich Weir for 48 years . . . 41 happily! One daughter Susan, one granddaughter Hannah.
Tell me a little bit about your writing process: I start writing by hand with a legal pad, and then type what I have. I just started writing whatever came into my head. And then I went back to verify dates, times, procedures, and people there. My biggest challenge is trying not to write a perfect chapter all at once. By that I mean, I kept editing over and over so I had to just write and go back and organize my thoughts.
Why should we read your book(s)?
There are not many books out there about a double lung transplant. And mine includes, a ghost story, a love story, an inspirational story, I explain to how to trust your own body and how to say no when you feel a medication or procedure isn’t correct for you. I also talk about the other side of organ donation recounting one family’s decision to donate their 31-year-old son’s organs. And with my thirty-year career in theatre, I tell how I dealt with unbearable pain with humor.
What were you like in high school?
It’s funny you ask. This year is my 50thHigh School reunion and I’m on the committee putting it together. I think I was shy, but others tell me I’ve always been an introvert.
What advice do you have for someone who has the same background/childhood/aspirations as you? Someone once said, “The only way you can become a writer is if you write.” It sounds simple, but it was inspiration enough for me. Grab a legal pad and pen or pencil and jot down what they are thinking about.
To follow what Cathie’s up to follow her on Facebook: Cathie Higgins Weir