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Should I write a book? Opinions Please.
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Whoa I learned something! Uh it was very... informative. Maybe a little to much medical terms, is this a real medical condition? Sorry just wondering lol. Now I did like the last line. "Needless to say, I am a woman who loves with half of her heart." that was good :3
Yeah I think this would be an interesting book, you should go for it!
I'd say yes - you definitely sound to have a tale to tell and your "voice" is quite defined and entertaining, which is great - but with the proviso that you have to assume your audience is entirely ignorant of anything to do with hearts or heart surgery. I liked the way you explained the medical stuff but I'd be tempted not to name the three surgeries as that spoils the conversational style a little. Good, readable, writing style though.
Oh, and save yourself trouble later by working out who your target audience is going to be first. It will make your tone more targeted and publicity much easier later on - I just thought "oh, I want to tell the story and everyone can read it!". Everyone CAN read it, but you need to know who the core of your audience who will buy it are.
If you want a suggestion, there are going to be a core of parents out there whose children are or have been diagnosed with your condition; to have an entertaining, snarky book available to tell them what might be in store would probably be an absolute boon.
Aim at them and you have an audience; the rest of us will come along with it if it's well-written and accessible.
Just a thought, and do ignore if it doesn't fit, but given that it's something I didn't do before writing mine and I wish I had done, it seemed worth mentioning!
JAC
I vote yes! I'm amazed and very glad you're here, both figuratively and literally! Like JAC said, it would be helpful for parents and families with a child with this condition but since this is a memoir, the focus reading group would be more along the lines of humor. I imagine you'll have more to say than just about your heart. I bet that half a heart loves just as much as a full, probably more. ;)
Yes!!! Interesting tale and I loved the smurf reference. I think you have agreat voice and could do a great job! Get writing!
@Lura - lol yes this is a real condition and yes I really have it. It's the reason I got back into writing and reading so much. I can't work a real job and I am currently fighting the government for disability because they say that my heart condition does not qualify me. Thanks to some good lawyers, I will be going to court soon for it. This is actually from a personal blog that I started a few months ago. My family and friends read it regularly and have been bugging me to turn the blogging into an actual book and not a blog. They all say they love my "voice" but I wanted opinions from writers/readers that do not know me to see if it is something others would read and not just my family. I guess I will just have to get started writing the book for real now. LOL
by the way, the medical definitions are actually separated and italicized in the blog so that it isn't part of the narrative. I just copy and pasted here and didn't format. lol
Oh, yes! You do have an energetic voice, and I thought the medical info was interesting. I, too, loved the last line. :) Good luck with your book and the Fontan Revision/Maze procedure.
September 22nd 1983 I took my first breath, who knew it wouldn't turn me pink like it's supposed to do to all newborn babies? No one could have predicted that upon taking that first breath I would remain the color of a smurf and set off the fear alarms of all the other people present in the room including my parents, doctors and nurses. The opinion in the delivery room was unanimous, something was seriously wrong. Within two hours of my entry into the world I was riding shot-gun in a pickup truck with my daddy and granny on my way from the hospital nursery to the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters where I was going to be evaluated as if I were an amoeba being looked at under the microscope in a tenth grade biology class.
After a thorough exam and an echocardiogram it was determined that everyone was right, something was wrong and the problem was my heart. I guess somewhere between wherever it is we come from and the womb someone forgot to give me my Tricuspid heart valve and didn't place the screws tight enough in my Mitral heart valve. Diagnosis? Tricuspid Atresia with Mitral Valve Prolapse.
The definition of Tricuspid Atresia as well as causes, incidence and risk according to the University of Maryland Medical Center and Me:
Tricuspid atresia is a type of in which the tricuspid heart valve is missing or abnormally developed (The creator of the universe didn't bother to attempt to give me one at all). The defect blocks blood flow from the right atrium (upper) to the right ventricle (lower).
Tricuspid atresia is an uncommon form of congenital heart disease that affects about 5 in every 100,000 live births. Twenty percent of patients with this condition will also have other heart problems (well this explains the fact that the screws weren't placed in the door hinges of the other valve).
Normally, blood flows from the body into the right atrium (upper), then through the tricuspid valve (yeah.. that didn't happen) to the right ventricle (lower) and on to the lungs. If the tricuspid valve does not open (or is MISSING), the blood cannot flow from the right atrium to the right ventricle (well that would be because the right ventricle died). Blood ultimately cannot enter the lungs, where it must go to pick up oxygen and become oxygenated (ahhhh, that explains being blue.. I guess that tends to happen when your blood stays blue due to no flow to your lungs to get oxygen)
Infants with tricuspid atresia generally are cyanotic (SMURFS!) and easily become short of breath (why my mother had to tap on my feet to keep me from falling asleep due to exhaustion while drinking my bottle).
And that ladies and gents, was my crazy introduction to this crazy thing called life. Since being diagnosed I have undergone two open heart surgeries. I had a Blalock and Taussig Shunt at the age of five and a half months old and an old style Fontan when I was two and a half years old. I am currently gearing up for round three on the operating table for the Fontan Revision/Maze procedure sometime within the next year.
Needless to say, I am a woman who loves with half of her heart.