When you first hear Laesa’s story, your heart breaks for her. But, when you sit down to listen, you realize that sympathy is not what her story demands. It demands respect, reminds us that our thresholds are never as close as we think they are and of the reward that comes when your HEART loves at capacity.

1. How would you describe yourself in 2-3 sentences?
I am a creative soul, searching for meaningful ways to connect with, and perhaps impact, others. I am dedicated to my family; marriage and motherhood are truly my passion projects.

2. Intrigue us – what is interesting about your story?
This story is my own, a memoir of the early years with my daughter. It is raw and honest in its depiction of my irrevocably altered life, since her birth. A life now filled with countless hospital admissions, question marks over the future, and joy like you have never known.

3. How long was it between when you thought about writing a book, and when you sat
down to write it?
These events occurred the other way around for me. I was writing paragraphs at a time, sometimes short essays, for months before I thought about an actual book. I had thousands of words down, disjointed and channelling towards no specific purpose, when I decided to
keep going with it and write a book. Once I decided this though, it was a few more months before I truly got into a rhythm of writing and being fully committed to the project.

4. Have you ever felt discouraged about your writing? Why? 
Yes, constantly! I am not a trained writer. Though I feel confident in how I can get my
thoughts across, I continually fear being an amateur will come through and be painfully
obvious to those who read. I also wonder, who cares what I have to say? Is it really adding
any value to the world, is it something that has not be said before? In the end, I have come to
recognize that each of us has an important story to tell, and a unique voice to tell it. This is
mine, and I have chosen to place it on a page.

5. What are you looking forward to most about adding “published author” to your
resume?
Pride, for myself. Having that sense of accomplishment, with a finished project in my hands, will be unreal. There are more details going into writing and publishing this book than I
initially imagined there would be. The deeper I go in this process, the more amazed and proud I am of anyone who has ever published a book.

6. If someone reading this could help you, support you, or connect you with someone,
who/what would it be?
Connect me, with an editor! My manuscript is, hopefully, coming to a close soon. And I now need someone who understands memoir, perhaps the female voice and medical jargon, to
help me bring it towards publishing quality. If you have some tips on ending a book well, I will take those too!

(TSPA note: We have just the editor for you, Laesa!)