Mom's Diary: A Story of Loss, Reflection, and Hope - Softcover

West, Michael R

Softcover

ISBN 13: 9798989475308

Publisher: Michael West, 2023

Synopsis

Twenty-three years after receiving his mom’s diary, the author opens its pages and begins to explore how she felt battling a terminal disease. What starts as a story about his mom and her struggles evolves into a deep exploration of the author’s guilt, sadness, and lingering impacts that her death had on his life.
Diagnosed with breast cancer at age 46, the author’s mom embarks down a path no one wants to endure. For seven years, she fought to survive. Her journal chronicles her fight, but it also examines her dependency on pain medications, the suffering she endured, and the rationale she developed for staying alive. The diary is raw, and the emotions are impactful. The author reads and responds to the diary entries for the first time while writing the book, internalizing realities that he didn’t know or hid from his consciousness.
The author’s journey gains momentum as he begins to unravel his complex feelings and shares his vulnerabilities. His awareness that he couldn’t fix this and his acceptance that he was powerless to prevent his mom’s death drive his willingness to revise his view of his actions and how he wants to live his life. The message is profound, and even though it is based on tragedy, the reader is left with hope.

About this title

About the Author

Michael was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. A lifelong lover of all things East Tennessee, he spent 30 years living all over the South. For the past 25 years, Michael has served as chief executive officer of numerous companies--some successful, others not. Along the way, he's been blessed to experience events and interact with thoughtful leaders who have impacted his life and made him wonder how this happened to the son of Pat and Ray. Today, Michael is executive chairman of Lirio, an AI company focusing on patient engagement in healthcare. Despite his travels and wide-ranging career, Michael never emotionally is far from home. In expectation of many grandkids, he now lives in Bristol, Tennessee, with his wife of 35 years, Tiffiny. They have two children. Ashley and her husband Gautum live in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Thomas and his wife Alexa, and their almost-perfect son Emmett, live in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Edition details

• Publisher: Michael West
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798989475308
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 252