When I came across this article, about the tragedy of an indie author who lost her fight with cancer, I was touched.  Immediately, I bought a copy from Amazon with every intention on reviewing it.

When it arrived, two days went by, then a week, and still I hadn’t opened the book.  Instead, I read countless articles, participated in a webinar, assisted in a podcast, wrote a few blog posts and even finished a short story, but I couldn’t pick up that book!

I began wondering why and realized that Julie DeMay went to school and studied creative writing (like me), she was thirty years old (like me), and had a dream of becoming an author (like me), right before it all came tumbling down.

So, why couldn’t I pick up this damn’ book?

It was evident I identified with Julie and if something like that could happen to someone who was just like me, then obviously it could happen to me.  Don’t get me wrong, I know one day I will die, but that doesn’t scare me, never did.  What scares me is dying after finally getting my life on the right path.  I am now armed with the information and the drive to reach my goal of becoming a full time author.  But what if it’s snatched away from me like Julie?  That’s why Julie’s book remains hidden in a drawer, still sealed in its Amazon mailing box.

I haven’t gotten any closer to convincing myself that I’m an individual and that our paths aren’t destined to end the same way, but I also haven’t opened that book yet.

Cell War Notebooks is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Ebay.  All proceeds from this book goes to her nine year old daughter Luca.  If you can’t afford to purchase the book, you can still support the cause by Tweeting this article with the hashtag #IndiesForward or #CellWarNotebooks.