the book

I just merged two major parts of the book. It took a while to bridge them together, but now I have and I am feeling a little overwhelmed. The book is becoming so long that it is feeling unwieldy. It's its own organism now. I feel like writing a book of this scope is a little like having a baby. The farther along I get, the more intense it becomes. I cannot lie, this is super painful, real pain. It's like birth in that it is a combination of true bliss and pain, at the raw edge of something. In birth, the transition phase (8-10 cm dilated) pushes beyond anything you have ever experienced before and it is sustained pain and is very primal. I feel like I am entering the transition phase with this book right now. I got so flustered earlier with the sheer volume of the text that I had to take a long walk. It's a lot of pages to manage. The characters are so personal to me. I really hope it moves people's hearts.

Sad news from Chattanooga and then the news that a teacher/friend from my daughter's school died last night. Such a sad and weird day. I'm glad I have the book to retreat into.