Special guest blogger: Chrissy

Me, Chrissy and the sorority girls!

I had a great time last night talking to a group of young women and faculty members at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. My lovely 11-year-old daughter Chrissy accompanied me. Chrissy begged me to bring the laptop, and I relented, suggesting she could blog about the event.

ZTA is a sorority at Miami University that supports breast cancer. This banquet is one of the many events that raise money for breast cancer. They include catering, a guest speaker (in this case, Tami) and an auction. All proceeds from the auction go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The room is quite festive with lots of pink. I cannot wait!

After a nice introduction and applause, Tami got up to the podium and got a good start with some humor. She officially started the talk with her story and introducing me. Then she settled in and become a bit more serious. Everyone seemed interested.

Next, she made a few statements about self-breast exams, which she says she feels very strongly about. She made some good points, but made sure not to scare anyone.

Then she talked more about her story, but didn’t center her talk on it. Then she exclaimed about how she didn’t believe what the doctors said and how she persevered. But she also talked about the hardships of her health issues, but soon changed the subject to keep the crowd captivated.

Then she stated the inspiration for writing her book and how it was formed and born. She talked about the people and places that inspired her and what they inspired. She told about her process of finding the people in her book and how she advertised and made her special connections.

Tami also shared some examples of inspiring stories of the people who are now in her book. She also exclaimed that she wanted “to not focus on her illness, but to focus on her health and the good things in life.” She said it gives her hope.

She talked about her blog and got the crowd excited for her upcoming book, “From Incurable to Incredible,” and her plans for the future of her book and people in her book. She noted how kind the people were in her book and how she is grateful for her success.

There you have it. Don’t you feel like you were there? Thanks to Amy Isenogle from the Cincinnati chapter of Komen for the Cure for inviting me and the ZTA sorority for the sponsoring the nice event. They were all so cute and did a wonderful job planning it and making us feel welcome. I wish I had it that together when I was their age! Oh to be 20 again ….