Revealing my story with help from Chris Martin

My hatred for being photographed is inordinate. I dread photo sessions like most people dread root canals. Remarkable, award-winning photographers have taken hundreds of photos that yielded only a few satisfactory shots.
So, when I scheduled a photo shoot last month, everyone asked why. They loved the old photo. The white pants. The candy-red patent Via Spiga pumps. (What’s not to love?)

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The Power of Storytelling

Photo of two men leaning against a boat

My father-in-law, Bill Rarick, with my husband, leaning against their boat before a fishing trip. Circa 1991

I was once at a conference where the attendees were asked to turn to a stranger sitting next to them and tell them a story that’s told and retold in their family about a family member. I turned to Lisa Watson and told her the following story.

Before heading into surgery for testicular cancer my father-in-law said to the nurse, “I sure wish I would have bought that boat.”

“What boat’s that?” the nurse asked politely. Continue reading