In this entry, I want to talk about the making of this book which is based on my blog: “Living with Tourette”.
I remember that I thought of starting to write blogs about hockey, which is my passion, and religion around a year ago. I was writing posts on Facebook during the hockey season, and I fell in love with writing and decided to develop this and to do it more seriously as a blog. I consulted with my father about this idea, and he thought that it was a good idea, also. So, I started with hockey and soon saw that not only was the writing going well but that I was getting a good reaction from my readers.
I talked with my sister about the hockey blog and how the writing made me feel and she was happy for me. During our talk, she suggested that I also do a blog about Tourette. She was sure that it would interest people to hear about what I was going through and how I dealt with it. I must be honest: at first, I was uneasy about making that move. I was afraid of exposing myself in this way to the world, and I told her that. After we talked, I said that I would put my faith in her words and write one blog entry and see how it goes. But after I wrote the first entry, and before I published it on my blog, I got cold feet and felt that maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. I remember that I closed my eyes and did a breathing exercise and thought about my sister’s faith in me. This finally convinced me to publish the first entry on my blog.
I must admit that my sister was right and I am glad that I did it and wrote this blog. The reactions from friends uplifted me and filled me with great satisfaction. I felt as if there had been a large rock blocking my way before, but that now I was free to move forward.
The blog quickly got bigger, and I soon had 18 blog entries. I decided then to publish a book with the first 16 entries from the blog. I also wanted to have a book that people could hold in their hands and that I could show to friends and family in Israel and also bring to my family in Canada: especially to my grandma who doesn’t use the internet. And I also wanted to publish it to help raise the awareness of Tourette in Israel and throughout the world.
I am continuing with the blog and am writing new entries whenever I feel that I have something to write. I find myself walking in my father’s footsteps at times and hope to continue writing in the years to come and see where it leads me.
This blog and book are my contributions to learning how to cope with Tourette and raise the awareness of Tourette in society. I hope that they will prove to be a significant contribution. And I hope that I will leave a legacy that my family and friends will be proud of.
These are the links to the printed and kindle version:
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