Lily and the Witch of Piffler's Mill (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781537798301)

In 2014 a massive stroke derailed my life in so many ways. There were, however, a few sparks of light in all of that darkness. One of those came from my darling wife who told me many times to start writing; and whether it was because the re-wiring of my brain made it possible, or because my perspective had been so radically altered, a life-long love affair with the written word was suddenly opened up enough to include me. Another benefit has been that my dreams--that world where I could still walk--became extremely vivid and detailed. It was in these dreams that a young girl of about 7 or 8 years of age appeared and informed me that her name was Lily and that she was my grandaughter. Now, this was well into my daughter-in-law's pregnancy, and her soon-to-be-born baby was, she had been told, a girl, and the name she had decided upon was Lily. This dream Lily was a precocious little girl in a tu-tu and rubber boots who asked a lot of questions and loved a mystery. This book, as well as the other Lily stories I have written, are based on that little girl. My recovery is, and has been, a long and arduous road to travel. It is one that my wife, Darlene, and I have travelled since her cerebral hemmorage in 2011. It is her journey that has inspired the strength and the resolve needed to make my own. Playing the guitar was, for me, a way to transmit the emotion that I felt, and to give voice to that creativity that existed within. When I was paralyzed on the entire left half of my body, I lost that treasured voice I had taken for granted before. There was a hole that lived inside of me until I discovered a love of writing. Unfortunately, I can only express that inner voice with one finger on my right hand; this book, in fact, was typed entirely with one finger.