For a while, I’ve been contemplating a shakeup for this weekly checkin.
“6 Point Saturday” has gotten plenty of good feedback. My friends Jeffrey S., Stephen M., Martine P., Zach M., Carmine D., Terry, Shane, Heather, Martin, Cassie, and many others have reached out unprompted to communicate their enjoyment of my weekly updates.
My Heart Has Been Saying There’s More1
On my drive to Bentonville this past weekend, I believe I discovered the evolution of this outreach.
So what I’m going to do is I’m going to share with you a book, in real time, that I need to write. It’s a memoir. Yes, I’m only just knocking on the door of 40 years old, and this will be my second memoir, but reflections on grief are necessary. They are cathartic. They are unifying.
I’m about to reveal something that will be triggering for many of you.
This Is Your Warning
The greatest grief of my life to date is the death of my friend Chewy2. He was with me for 15 years. I rescued him from certain death in October of 2008. He was born on a farm in Wahoo, a rural Nebraska town full of farmers.
Farmers are wonderful people, and they view animals through a utility lens. That means when a litter of farm cats are born just before the first freeze, the kittens have one of two fates: freeze to death or feed a coyote. If “feed a coyote” then attract predators to the chickens. If “freeze”, then which death is less painful?
So it’s not a heartless option that leads many farmers to euthanize late-born cats, but to most city-folk—that includes me—the killing of a kitten is adjacent to terrorism.
Framing the Journey
There’s a whole book worth of stories before we even get to Chewy, but to set up the next few months, I’ll spoil the beginning. I adopted Chewy, saving him from the tractor tire that was scheduled to end his misery before it began in October of 2008.
It’s true he was the runt of the litter, and the only kitten who’d been passed over. All the others were adopted when I arrived that cold night just before Halloween. The tractor, that fall, would remain blameless, and I’d just saved the life of my future best friend.
I’m going to begin the book that will not only show the life of a good man—I always called Chewy “My Good Man”, but I’m going to share how I became the kind of person who would give of himself to be a true friend.
Parts of this story will reveal my worst side.
Moments will show how a cat can help shape a person into the kind of man who can love, lead, sacrifice, and bleed for others.
And as I write this memoir, you’ll get the first look into the man behind the books you’ve already read or listened to.
Beware!
There will be Easter Eggs.
There will be typos.
There will be unpolished moments of uncertainty.
And that’s where I want to land this week’s journey.
How To Engage With This Process
I’m giving you a book for free. Reading it is enough. It’ll come in weekly sips.
If you’re the kind of person who likes to offer feedback, I’m grateful for any notes on typos. I’m thankful for any notes on boring moments. I’m indebted to any insights on unexplored or poorly reasoned segments: In other words, if you want to offer editorial comments of any kind, I’ll take it all.
For those of you who think this may be a worthwhile project, you can become a paid subscriber. Anyone who chooses to support the book with their money will be thanked in the book’s acknowledgements when it is collected and published.
You can share this journey with cat lovers, or anyone who’s suffered great grief. As of today, I have lost a daughter, a cat, a father, and a dear confidant. I’m well acquainted with grief.
If you’re happy simply reading this book each week, no worries. I’m glad you’re here. Thank you for being part of my writing world. Next week, you’ll get a passage from Chapter 1 of My Life In Cats.3
Continue The Luke In Time Mysteries
Perhaps you’ve read one or two of the Luke In Time Mysteries and you’re looking to continue the journey.
All my books, in all formats, can be found here.
I borrowed the format of “6 Point Saturday” from Tim Ferriss’s “5 Bullet Friday”, and it has served me well as a template to share with readers some value, but I need to embrace my unique perspective and my personal journey of connection and dialogue.
This may be triggering for some readers because not only is Chewy a cat, but I have also lost a daughter and a father. How could the loss of a cat hurt worse than the loss of your offspring or you progenitor? That’s what the memoir will explore.
This is a working title. If you think of one that seems more catchy, I’m very open for suggestions. Thank you.
Let’s Go! Ready to read it !