Author’s Review of, Campbell’s Rambles: How A Seeing Eye Dog Retrieved My LifeAfter reading as a true reader, rather than a writer) I’ve finally sat down as a true reader and read the Text To Speech Enabled Kindle Version of my book, Campbell’s Rambles: How A Seeing Eye Dog Retrieved My Life. I have to say it was a moving experience to read it as a true reader all the way through after having written it. Now I read it after it first came out and I read it in the text version that was sent to Createspace for publishing, so it was still fresh in my head. I then put it completely aside and now have reread it over the last few weeks. During this time, many life changes have once again been taking place that were left over from the time period this book was written and so it was for me a very emotional reading. However, I had lots of fun reliving the memories of the training experience while going to get my now Guide Dog Campbell, as well as the experiences after coming home, the wonderful, good, not so great and horrible, as well. All of it was fantastic and has helped to make me who and what I am today. I am going to copy and paste a few lines from within the book. First I want to speak to those of you who are not Guide Dog handlers from any school, and who have no plans to be so. This book speaks to much more than just Guide Dog handling, and in fact in the Afterword I acknowledge you cane travelers very specifically by recognizing as a former cane traveler that this Guide Dog stuff is not for everyone and does not in any way, determine how independent you are, I do so after reading several reviews from cane travelers concerning other Guide Dog Books. You have on more than one occasion expressed distaste and upset at being made to feel as if Guide Dog work is the only way. I’m here to say that is simply not so. To all in general. First things first yes the book is about Guide Dogs, school, and experiences had afterward, it is also about Mental Illness, other Physical Disabilities, as well as a growing horrifically horrible problem, Domestic Violence of which I am a two time survivor. So I encourage everyone, sighted, blind, Guide Dog user, cane traveler, or whatever to read this book. Honestly there’s something in here for everyone. A couple of my friends have read this, and I’d love their opinions. I want to say that I have enjoyed very much both writing this book as well as now being able to sit down as a reader not the author and actually read the book as such. I laughed, cried, and became angry. For a time I distanced myself and just read and lived it as I did so as I would any book I would read. I could smell the city of New York. I could feel the fear when I read of the hard street crossing I got off track in. Could literally smell the cars, and the exhaust from their engines. I’d forgotten that, but reading it brought it right back. I’ve had a couple of people tell me that reading that book made it as if they were there, and this is great. That’s what I wanted. So I invite you to take a trip down memory lane with me, read the book, and then review it to let me know just what you think. Passage from: Chapter 14 “My Last Morning” Suddenly I wanted nothing more than to crawl back in my bed and hide, but I knew I couldn’t do that. Just then, Devin, his dog Gavin, and Drew came back in. Drew said, “Devin wanted to say goodbye again.” I stood up, and Devin and I hugged our goodbyes. “Remember,” Devin said, “you can do this. Just remember to breathe and enjoy yourself.” I hugged him tightly and asked, “Aren’t you scared at all?” He laughed, “Hell, yeah! But we can’t go home and not try, not after all the hard work that we’ve all done to get here.” I knew he was right, so I gathered my courage once again. Devin kissed my cheek and went out. For just a moment, it was just Drew, Campbell, and me. Drew walked over. “How about a hug for your old instructor?” I reached out, put my arms around him, and hugged him tightly to me. He hugged me back. I was going to miss him terribly. I’d never felt so safe with anyone. As was the norm for me when hugging someone I wanted to remember well, I buried my face against his shoulder and breathed deeply of his scent. It was the scent of learning, trust, and safety. He’d done a lot for me that I will probably never be able to talk about. We’d had a lot of fun together during training, and I’d gained a whole new perspective on life, thanks to him. I didn’t—and still don’t today—think that the man has any idea how much he helped me. As we separated, he brushed a couple of strands of hair from my face, and said softly, “You’re going to do just fine. Don’t be so afraid, and remember what I told you. Take a chance, because there’s a 50 percent chance you’ll be right.” For what I thought would be the last time, he took a tissue from his pack and wiped the tears from my face. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to press a stop button. I suddenly had a whole list of questions I hadn’t thought of until then. In addition, I had fears I’d been keeping secret. There were things I thought I might be able to say if I had just one more day, but now the time was gone. There were also the old fears: Would he believe me if I told him my secrets? Would he care? Would he think that the things that were going on in my life that I wanted to tell him about were no big deal? Would he think that my fear of what might happen in the future was ridiculous, and that I was just exaggerating? A jumble of thoughts and scenarios ran around and around in my head. How to begin? Was there any way to stop this from happening? Could I somehow avoid going back into things I knew now weren’t at all right? I hope you’ll enjoy the story and know that I wrote it from my heart. Please make sure to share your truest thoughts and feelings with me as well as anyone else you wish concerning this book, this labor of love and passion. Blessid Be from Campbell AKA Bubba Lee or as I most lovingly call him: King Campbell. See all the information below for details as to how to learn more about and buy the book. *** Campbells Rambles: How a Seeing Eye Dog Retrieved My Life Nonfiction by Patty L. Fletcher Now For Sell! The book is now for sale in print and e-book format from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, the Apple bookstore, Smashwords, and other online sellers. For details, please see: dvorkin/pattyfletcher/ About the Book This is the story of how the author obtained her first guide dog from The Seeing Eye™ in Morristown, New Jersey: what motivated her, the extensive training she had, the special relationship she developed with her trainer, and the good friends she made. Once she returned home to Tennessee, there were many new challenges to be met and overcome, including domestic abuse. All that was in addition to her chronic conditions of bipolar disorder and fibromyalgia. With honesty, courage, and humor, Patty Fletcher tells a remarkable story of personal development that is sure to inform, entertain, and inspire others, both blind and sighted. THE SEEING EYE and SEEING EYE are registered trademarks of The Seeing Eye, Inc. See: SeeingEye.org The book was edited by Leonore H. Dvorkin: leonoredvorkin Cover design by David Dvorkin: dvorkin About the Author Patty L. Fletcher lives in Kingsport, Tenn., where she works as Volunteer Coordinator at CONTACT–CONCERN of Northeast Tennessee, Inc. See contactconcern.org For many more details about her and her family, and to see some additional photos of Patty, her co–workers, and Campbell, go to: dvorkin/pattyfletcher/
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 00:37:35 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015