A couple of months ago, a woman named Donna Kozik contacted me about contributing to a book about gratitude. Donna had published a book called The Gratitude Book Project 2011, a collection of short stories by dozens of writers around the country that answered a simple question: what am I thankful for? She had read some of my writings on the Internet and invited me to submit several essays on gratitude for the 2012 edition. I submitted three selections that were all chosen for publication. As far as I know, I'm the only writer from Hawai'i to be included in this year's edition.
The first was a story about my niece Francine who has faced heart bypass surgery and three types of cancer over the last five years but still manages to live in gratitude each day, despite her circumstances. Another story described the journey of my classmate, George Kanalu Young. During the summer after our freshman year, George broke his neck in a diving accident that left him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Angry and ill-prepared to handle the cards he was dealt, he eventually came around after seeing the gargantuan effort his friends, family and classmates put forth so he could fully experience his life. And finally, the story of my sister Lani, who lost her business partner and life partner in a span of 70 days. She fought through the grief by focusing on what gifts life brings her everyday instead of feeling victimized by her unfortunate fate.
The book is being released on Amazon.com today and the proceeds go to three worthy charities: Feeding America, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and Women for Women International.
The publishers are attempting to get the book on the New York Times best seller list so they are trying to sell as many copies TODAY as they can. Everyone who is associated with the book is doing their best to promote it on the first day it's available on Amazon. If you choose to buy a book, and let me know, I'll be glad to send you a handwritten thank you card that can be put into the book. I want to thank all of you that have read, commented and supported my writing over the years. Happy Holidays to everyone!
You can purchase the book from Amazon by clicking on this link: http://amzn.to/szlmxy
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