I have no interest in abandoning the blog. Far from it. What does interest me is to make sure that I, not my cancer, get the last word. The only way to do that is to write the final chapter before the cancer has a chance to cut me off. I can then go back and fill in any blanks (as they come along) at my leisure as life unfolds in real time, as long as I have the breath of life in me and something interesting to say.
What am I babbling about, you ask?
Simply this: I am faced with a tough reality, and here it is: the only way to beat cancer is to make sure it does not have the final word. But of course there will be a day when cancer will have silenced me. Victory lies in making sure I have said what I needed to say before that point. And in doing so, this isn’t going to be about cancer pulling the life out of me but rather about me pulling life from the cancer. I’m going to continue that fight even after I’m gone, and I’m going to do it with the book I’m announcing today.
Have you ever had a premonition that turned out to be real? Ever seen something in a dream that came to pass? Have you ever had the face of a long-lost acquaintance pop into your mind for no apparent reason, only to have that person physically re-enter your life unexpectedly a short time later? Have you had, or do you have any interest in having, “lucid dream” experiences, where you can directly manipulate what’s going on in your dream environment? Do you “fly” in your dreams? Would you like to? Have you ever experienced a miracle? Have you ever wondered if anything you do makes a difference?
I’ve been warning you about this little book. The new book works not just for those who’ve kept up with the blog and are interested in how my particular story—which contains all the elements listed above—is going to end. It will, I believe, also be of value to those who’ve never read the blog yet have a keen interest in the subject matter I just described. I will be adding more entries to the blog as time progresses and as I have things to say about the effects of the disease on me, my psyche and my loved ones. I’ll also be adding info about any new and remarkable strange coincidences that occur, should they happen between now and the time cancer catches up to me. But even if you miss those entries and do not follow the blog, the book will stand alone as a testament, I believe, to the power of the human spirit and the incredible awe-inspiring wonder of the human experience—remarkable, amazing phenomena that are within reach of anyone and everyone who’s just willing to have an open mind. Read the book and you can join me in getting the last laugh on cancer—which, if it were to have its way, would prevent me from telling you about any of these things.
What’s in the book?
It’s a continuation of themes we’ve been talking about all along in the blog, but it stands alone. You don’t have to have read one word of the blog to understand, enjoy and extract real insight into the human spirit from the book. The blog started out as an author’s blog and was devoted to promoting the novels I was then writing. Because I was also on talk radio at the time the blog did make the occasional foray into politics. Okay, lots of forays, given that I was desperately trying to obtain medical coverage under Obamacare having just received a diagnosis of kidney and bladder cancer while being kicked off my old plan. But this book is not about politics at all; forget all that. Instead it focuses on the incredible coincidences involving my health, life and career that have been culminating all around me for the last several months. Call them paranormal, or don’t, but the strange and at times hard to explain events and occurrences outlined in this book are remarkable, they are real, and they changed my life.
The book project really was inevitable once I made two decisions. One, when my health took a turn for the worse, I decided to throw privacy to the winds and blog about it. And second, I also decided to confess within the blog that my decision to give up a perfectly good day job in order to award myself a sabbatical for the purpose of writing novels was the result of some very strong premonitions, premonitions I’d spent a lifetime learning to tune in and listen to. My life has not been the same since I made those announcements. Further, the blog has struck a chord, with people constantly contacting me and telling me how much my writing about my experiences has meant to them, and encouraging me to keep at it.
So I became determined that the blog is not simply going to end some day by virtue of the fact that I have passed away. Instead, I determined to set it all down now in a book with a logical beginning, middle and end—an end that cancer can’t cut off. You and I will get the final word here, not the cancer.
So back to the sabbatical. I never expected to become a New York Times bestselling author. But on the other hand, at least trying my hand at writing novels was a “bucket list” item of mine that I considered utterly necessary in order to have a fulfilling life. But the demands of the journalism profession were such that there’s just no way I could find time to do both at the same time. It was one or the other. In making my decision, I also decided to announce that I was having premonitions warning me not to delay, that time could be running out for me. Since that time, blog readers have been with me every step of the way as those premonitions have turned out to be true. Fast forward two years from then to the present day and what do we now know? I have terminal metastatic cancer of the abdomen with a nominal six months left to live, but I also have published three well-received and well-reviewed novels that never would have had the chance to leave my keyboard had I not listened to those premonitions.
Why did I listen to those premonitions? That is what the book’s about. The lessons I took are lessons that you, too, can take. Anyone can do this.
I have many good friends but most of them know very little about me. Most see me as a sober-minded, serious, principled journalist who’s spent a lifetime in the trenches of TV news, mostly fighting the good fight for truth, justice and the American way. Those who know me best laughingly accuse me of considering myself to be on a “mission from God” to make the profession better. I laugh and shrug it off—but have never denied it.
So here it is. Today I’m announcing a short book that will explain it all to you, should you care to know. It’s entitled (sorry for the mouthful) My Lifetime of Strange Coincidences and Weird Happenings. Oh, yes, and there’s a subtitle: “How one ordinary person learned to experience precognition, visions, clairvoyance, lucid dreaming, and even miracles--and you can too.”
And folks, it’s all non-fiction. There is not one word of embellishment or exaggeration in the book. There’s even supporting documentation for many of the incidents mentioned.
For those of you who’ve known me only as a serious-minded, award-winning journalist—how does that grab ya? I’ve had a whole secret life you know nothing about. Highlights:
1. I’ve experienced at least one major miracle in my life. You don’t have to be religious to appreciate that claim if you simply accept the definition of “miracle” as a highly improbable, highly beneficial incident that just happens to take place at the precise time it’s needed most. One such incident at the age of 19 left me wondering why I was “selected for survival” (if indeed I was) and has put me on that “mission from God” my friends sometimes kid me about without knowing how correct they are as I try to determine what is so special about me that I lived when I should have died—and what I can do to deserve the great gift I have been given.
2. I make no claims to being a psychic or anything like one. Yet I have experienced visions and precognitions in my life that are mind-blowing. One arguably saved my life. Others definitely changed my life, but only because I had learned to recognize certain precognitive events and warnings as such and act on them. You can do this, too—I believe anyone can—and the “how to” aspects of this book are a major reason why I wanted to put it out for you.
3. Just for fun I have learned to do some things with dreams that are, while not uncommon, nor are they something you hear about every day. Specifically: lucid dreaming and dream flight. In the course of looking for self-help manuals from others on how to achieve such states, I found out that there’s not a lot of good teaching material out there. Hopefully mine will be more instructive. Again, I feel these abilities are entirely “normal” and that almost anyone can learn to do them with persistence, just like anyone can learn to ride a bike or fly a kite. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to take flight in a dreamscape at will, or to manipulate your dream surroundings in other ways, this book can help you do it, using the same techniques I learned.
This book is now available on the super cheap for the Kindle. Everything I’ve mentioned so far stands alone; it doesn’t matter whether you’ve read one word of the blog to get value out of the book. That value includes:
1. A sense of wonder! The human experience is more varied, diverse and delightful than you can imagine. All it will take is for you to put aside some pre-conceived notions our society has drilled into you about what is not possible, and you should be able to start recognizing precognition, foreshadowing, and even visions when they happen. As noted, I’m no psychic, so if I can do these things, anyone can. It takes nothing more than an open mind, practice and perseverance.
2. You can learn to manipulate your own dreamscape, bending it to your will rather than having to stand around as a passive spectator. As a first step, you can learn to take flight in your dreams.
3. You will come away with a sense of awe and excitement over the incredible gift that is your life—feelings that will give you an advantage when dealing with personal setbacks and depressing events. Your life does matter. When you touch the lives of others, that matters. Hopefully what’s happened to me will help you see that.
If you have been keeping up with the blog, then as an added bonus, you get this:
1. While my blog will continue, you don’t have to worry about how the story will end. This book I’m releasing today contains the final word. Oh, sure, the fine details of my passing won’t be in there. The author will die in the end—which makes this author exactly the same as every other author who’s ever lived. But one big difference is that the meaning of it all will be in here. You and I, not my cancer, are getting the final word here about what is happening to me and those who love me.
2. Those blog readers who’ve invested their time and energy thus far in learning about my story will find out once and for all what drives me—why I’ve been on that “mission from God” I’ve never told you about until now. And then you’ll know why it’s so important to me and why I find it so moving when people tell me what a positive influence I’ve been on them, their lives, and their careers, since that’s what I’d been trying to do all along. Long-time friends, some of whom have known me for decades, will get to know a side of me they never suspected existed.
To get the book, scrounge up a few dimes and go here. The Kindle version is out now; the print version will be coming along in a few days at that same link or at your favorite on-line bookstore. It’s a quick read—and then if you’d like, we’ll be able to go forward on the same page again as my cancer blog continues.
I hope you enjoy, get a lot out of it, and that you share what you learn with others.
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