Of all the days in the year that I could learn that my memoir, The Strongbox , had found a publisher, it was on Valentine’s Day. I put all my heart into writing this book, and to have it affirmed on that specific day has extraordinary meaning for me. As readers will discover, Valentine’s Day has harbored some of the most cheerless events in my life, and The Strongbox, in large measure, has been about addressing and redirecting the impact of those events. Getting notice from She Writes Press on February 14th that they were backing my story filled me with teary-eyed wonder at the synchronicity. When I asked Brooke Warner, the founder of SWP, if she had intentionally waited for that day to make the announcement, she said she hadn’t, which makes it all the more preternaturally marvelous. I couldn’t have asked for a more propitious date to read their words to me, which included: “The Strongbox conjures up so much — not only is it a vessel to hold information your mother had, it also feels like you are the strongbox in this story — brave, resilient and determined.”

I’m so excited for the public phase of this project to begin and to have the company of the She Writes Press team and all of their authors in my camp. We’re scheduled for release in the fall of 2020. This is sure to be an eventful next year and a half, and I’m looking forward to sharing it with everyone.