World TB Day, the Lung Association and our Cream Money book

March 24th is World TB Day - the day to raise public awareness about tuberculosis and the fact this disease is still a threat in many countries of the world. According to the World Health Organization, tuberculosis (TB) is one of the world's top infectious killers.

The theme for World TB Day 2015 is 'Reach, Treat, Cure Everyone', to draw attention to the estimated 3 million people worldwide with TB who are not treated and cured. The Lung Association of Canada notes that in Canada, we have many world-class researchers working to find ways to treat and cure this disease. I am thankful for that.

In our immediate family, we have been affected by numerous health conditions affecting the lungs, including a TB scare faced by my mother-in-law, who was a nurse for all of her work life. My husband, Al, was hospitalized many times during his first few years of life because of severe asthma. As a child, he was so ill that he asked his mother if he could go back underneath the oxygen tent in his hospital room - so he could breathe better. I developed allergies and asthma as an adult - which are still a struggle for me - and both of our daughters have had difficulties with asthma over the years.

The scariest times were those which took any of us to the hospital. Being unable to breathe properly is frightening, and we would not wish that on anyone.

Last October, our eldest daughter, Lisa Driver, posted a message on her Facebook page in which she shared a music video that has a truly inspiring story attached to it. This is what Lisa posted:

     I was going to share this song anyways, because I love its message of living each day to the fullest.
     Then I watched the video and was truly touched by the dedication of the song to those with Cystic Fibrosis. When I was three, I had such severe asthma the doctors were worried it was CF. I haven't thought of that a lot and until this moment, didn't realize how close I came to a terminal diagnosis. I am so grateful for my health and this life.
     This video is worth the watch. Lisa

Al took our little Lisa to the hospital that day when she was struggling to breathe. He vividly recalls that moment when the doctor said that Lisa might have cystic fibrosis. It still shakes him to the core. We are so thankful that CF did not become a reality for her.

For months now, we have been working on producing a book called 'Cream Money - Stories of Prairie People', which will feature short stories told by people in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta, who grew up during a time when farmers collected and sold cream to subsidize their family's income. I am one of those Prairie people from that era. Part of my family's story will be in this book, which we plan to release in the next few months.

Our publishing company, DriverWorks Ink, has donated to various charities for years, from the proceeds of many of our books. Last fall, we were been mulling over the idea of whether to donate from Cream Money or not. Publishing is a tough business in which "every penny counts," as an industry person recently advised us at a Saskatchewan Publishers Group /SaskBooks conference. Still, we are Christian people and we give in gratitude for the gifts we have received. So money is nice, but sharing it is nicer.

After seeing Lisa's post and that incredible video last fall, we decided that we would give an annual donation from our Cream Money book sales to The Lung Association of Saskatchewan.

We look forward to releasing our Cream Money book in the next while (in which the cream can image below will play a central role), and to helping further raise awareness about lung diseases and find cures and treatments for diseases like TB, asthma, and many more.

We are in the final stages of editing the 30-plus stories that have been contributed to our Cream Money book. If you or someone you know still has a story to share about those days on the farm, please contact me by March 31 so we can make room for your submission.

You Deserve The Best - The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I watched the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower the other night. It had been on my 'movies to watch' list for quite some time, and the fact that one of the executive producers is a family friend was another reason I wanted to watch this film.

James/Jim Powers, who produced the movie with the film's writer Stephen Chbosky, is the oldest son of Ken and MaryBelle Powers, who have been dear friends of ours for many years. Ken is a retired United Church minister and he was the first full-time minister of Heritage United Church, the church I attend in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. I give Ken the credit (and sometimes the blame) for pushing me out of my comfort zone and helping me further discover my abilities as a writer, but mostly he pushed me into having the courage to stand in front of a crowd and read scripture. This was the first step on the long road leading to me becoming the confident public speaker I am today. It's easier to stand up and speak in public when you are surrounded by loving, supportive people.

But back to the movie. I loved it. The movie is described as a story about an introvert freshman who is taken under the wings of two seniors who welcome him to the real world. Without saying too much about the plot, the script was well-written, thought-provoking, and surprising. The characters were strong, sound, and complex. The acting was superb. The main characters played by Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Ezra Miller stayed with me long after the movie was over and I found myself reliving parts of the movie and pondering many of the lessons within.

There were two phrases (of many quotes from the movie available here) that have stuck with me. They are so strong in my consciousness that they inspired me to write this blog and put the quotes together with photos I have taken.

As a journalist and as a human being, I have seen so many cases of the past inappropriately defining the future for some people. I hope for a world where the past only helps and doesn't hurt us.

This second phrase was used twice in the movie and it made its point with me both times, as I watched the actors, and as I thought of people I have met and whom I have read about who somehow do not believe themselves worthy.

Hockey, SuperMom and the Big Baby books, and Children's Wish Foundation

On February 6th, we had the privilege of attending a Regina Pats Western Hockey League game to sit alongside the good folks of Children's Wish Foundation, Saskatchewan branch, on Children's Wish Night.

Author Dave Driver, who also happens to be our son, brought copies of his funny children's book SuperMom and the Big Baby, illustrated by Guy Laird. Dave is a mortgage broker who wrote this funny story as a gift to his wife Kelli. The phrases that SuperMom speaks in the book are phrases that Kelli spoke while sleeping. The book has been praised by teachers, parents, and children ages two to nine in particular.

We offered a special deal to anyone wishing to buy the book that night. Usually, we sell the book for $13.95 and donate $1 from each book to Children's Wish Foundation. (We donate to numerous charities from sales of some of our books. The list is at the bottom of our Home page.) Last night, we sold the book for $10 and gave HALF of that money to Children's Wish as our donation towards their good work.

Here's a photo journal of that night's fun event:

     Dave posed for a picture while signing a book for this little guy before the game. Meanwhile, Al is busy visiting with the little dude. His 'grandpa' impulses kick in and he starts the teasing and visiting every time he sees a child.

Then it was Dave's turn to visit.

He signed a book for this young man...

...who couldn't wait to look at his new book.

     A Children's Wish Child was introduced to drop the puck at the beginning of the hockey game.

     We were impressed by the new $3.7-million scoreboard and screen at Brandt Centre, home of the Regina Pats junior hockey team. Wow! It's like watching TV in high-definition and the clips between plays add so much more entertainment to a night out at the hockey game.

     I've never seen a 'Kiss Cam' or those psychedelic 'Clap Your Hands' colours on screen at a Pats game before. 

     This family stopped by and the dad asked what we were doing at our display. When we told him we were selling our great children's book and giving half the proceeds to Children's Wish Foundation, the little boy (about age six or seven) told us: "I've read that book."

     I was a little taken aback and asked him. "You've read this book?"

     "Yes," he said.

     I looked at his mom and told her that her son said he's read this book. "Oh, maybe he read it at school," she said.

    The boy looked at me and announced," It's in my backpack."

     "Your backpack at home?" his mom asked.

     The boy nodded.

     I leaned down to the boy's level and pointed at Dave. I told the boy, "This man wrote this book. Isn't that cool?"

     Without missing a beat, the boy replied, "I know. I saw his picture in the book."

     Dad asked, "Do you like this book?"

     The boy nodded.

     "Would you like to buy a book so you can read it to your brother and sisters?"

     "Yes."

     So they purchased their own copy of the book, and we all smiled. For quite a while.

     Meet Kristen Allen (left) and Jillian Desautels, Children's Wish Foundation staff in Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan respectively.

  

We had fun working alongside them and talking about their great charity.

 When the overhead lights were down and the game was on, Dave and Al enjoyed watching the Regina Pats and Saskatoon Blades on the ice.

I asked Al to take a photo of me with Dave, to prove I was there. (The photographer is rarely in any photos - with the exception of today's selfies trend.)

While Al was busy chatting with Jillian and Kristen...

... Dave was waiting patiently for K9, the Regina Pats mascot, to pose with him and the SuperMom and the Big Baby book.

     It was a fun night in Regina, Saskatchewan, made even better when a gentleman came along and made a substantial donation to Children's Wish Foundation. He had a Wish Child several years ago, and they went on a vacation through Children's Wish. His selfless act made our night.

   We'll be doing this again next month, on March 17th in Moose Jaw, at 7 p.m. in the new Mosaic Place, when the Moose Jaw Warriors play the Swift Current Broncos. We'll see you there!

A Conversation With My Mother – For World Cancer Day

Yesterday afternoon, I had the urge to phone my mother and talk to her.

Unfortunately, that couldn’t happen physically because my mom died on July 9, 2011, three months after being diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic and liver cancer.

Her death cut me to the core. I thought she’d live for another 10 years, like her mom, who died at age 94.

I didn’t realize how much I would miss my mom until after she died. I suppose that’s normal, but I don't like it. Her death has not stopped me from talking to her, however. I have conversations with her all the time – in my mind, on some higher level than I ever experienced prior to her death. She is a deep part of who I am, so it makes sense that she will always be with me in one way or another.

Today is World Cancer Day.

In honour of all those who are fighting this terrible disease, and those who have lost their fight or lost others to cancer, I am taking a giant step outside my comfort zone and sharing with you my most recent conversation with my mom.

This is what we talked about yesterday:

Hi, Mom. How are you doing?

Great. Really great.

I miss you.

I know you do, but it’s okay. Things are beautiful here and you are doing fine. You’re a good writer and a good person. Live your life and help others. That’s what it’s all about.

Thanks, Mom. What do you want me to do?

Tell them there is life after death. Tell them there is hope. Tell them Dionne’s story – over and over again. She helped me. She helped you cope with my death. Tell them all. Hope is important.

I’m trying, Mom. The journalist in me doesn’t often let the marketing/public relations person take over.

That’s okay. Be you. You are perfect.

Thanks, Mom. You always did know how to keep me grounded. Hey, wait a minute. That ‘you are perfect’ part doesn’t sound like the real you. You’re the one who told Auntie Janet not to read one of the books I published because she wouldn’t like it. While I was standing right there!

(A smile.) Well, it’s true. She wouldn’t have liked it. So there.

Ah, I can see your one eyebrow lifting right now. And your smile. I love that smile. More of a smirk, I guess. Thanks for that, by the way. It keeps people around me smiling a lot. Okay, Mom, I’ve cried enough tears for now. I’ll talk to you later. Have a good day.

I will. I always do.

I love you.

I love you, too. Be strong.

            So now I guess I have to follow my mom’s advice and tell you about Dionne Warner. She’s amazing. She’s battling her eighth cancer diagnosis right now, with grace and courage and tons of humour. She was fighting her fifth, sixth, and seventh cancer diagnoses when I met her in 2010 and began writing a book about her and her husband Graham.

The book’s called Never Leave Your Wingman: Dionne and Graham Warner’s Story of Hope, and it’s as much a love story as anything. It’s helped a lot of people, including me (we’ve sold more than 6,000 copies so far). It’s about living life to the fullest, every day, whether you’re sick or not.

 In April 2011, I had two chapters left to write of the book when we got the phone call that Mom had inoperable cancer. I worked on my laptop as we drove to Edmonton, Alberta to visit Mom that Easter weekend, and I looked at photos of Dionne and Graham Warner, dressed in costume and dancing into her chemo treatments in Regina, Saskatchewan. I shared those photos with my mom and my siblings and other family members in that hospital room. The photos made us laugh, gave us some information about cancer treatments, and took a lot of the fear out of cancer for us. We had never faced the disease that up-close-and-personal before.

A few weeks later, Mom phoned me from her home and asked, “Did that Dionne girl ever try

anything green?”

It took me a few minutes to figure out what Mom was asking, but I realized she meant alternative, complementary therapies aside from chemotherapy or radiation. “Yes, Mom. Dionne sees a doctor of natural medicine, which is different from a naturopath or a homeopath, and she takes supplements to help her fight the toxicity of her cancer treatments. She’s also been to Mexico twice for complementary therapies.”

A few weeks later, I found out that Mom was trying some homeopathic therapies. One of my aunts said the possibility of alternative treatments gave my mom some hope and put a smile back on her face and a new spring in her step. Mom started to bounce back mentally and be the same strong woman I’d grown up with.

Mom took that therapy until the day before she died. My youngest sister cared for her in that final week and when we arrived for our final visit with Mom, my tired, frail mom insisted on pulling herself out of bed and walking out to the living room to sit in her recliner. We knew it was draining every ounce of strength she had, but she was determined to make this final visit seem as normal as possible. It was heartbreaking and beautifully strong.

That’s my mom ... tough to the end. And that’s the spirit she wants all of us to live with.

Be strong. Fight to the end. Be good to each other. Help others. It’s what my mom did for all of her 84 years. It’s what Dionne Warner does in her ongoing cancer battles.

Cancer Sucks. But we don’t have to take it lying down.

Let’s Fight!

P.S.  You will be seeing a lot more about the inspiring Dionne Warner in the coming weeks. She is the face of the new national Beauty Gives Back campaign of the Look Good ... Feel Better program to help patients cope with cancer. She has been interviewed extensively by media across Canada and more is yet to come. You can read Dionne and Graham’s love story in our Never Leave Your Wingman book. (We’re selling signed copies on our website for $19.95 CAD, plus shipping, within Canada). $1 from every book sold is donated to the Cancer Research Unit at the University of Saskatchewan via the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency.

Here are some links that will tell you more about Dionne and Graham Warner and the Never Leave Your Wingman book:

Never Leave Your Wingman book webpage

CityTV Toronto interview – Beauty Gives Back launch at  Mirror Ball fundraiser

CBC National News - tow truck 'best gift ever'
Global National The Morning Show interview with Dionne Warner on World Cancer Day
CTV Regina Morning Live interview with Dionne Warner about Beauty Gives Back

CTV Edmonton News interview with author Deana Driver talking about the book

Never Leave Your Wingman book Facebook page

Keep Hope Alive!

Holiday Fun with Books, A Movie, and My Wedding Dress

Hi there. I hope you had a nice Christmas season. Ours was great, especially on Boxing Day, when both of our daughters and their partners were visiting from out-of-town and we were able to spend the evening with our son and his family.

On December 27th, I went shopping with our daughters and we visited a local bookstore - Chapters Gordon Road, Regina, SK - to buy some books, of course, and to see our own books on the shelves.

As an author and publisher, I always check out the 'Saskatchewan's Own', 'Local Authors', and 'Regional Interest' shelves of Canadian bookstores. Several of the books we've published are visible in this photo - the award-winning children's book Jamie and the Monster Bookroom is top left under the green sign, Interrupted With Bipolar is on the second shelf on the left, and my award-winning, best-selling Never Leave Your Wingman book is on the second shelf on the right.

      

No matter how many times I see books published by DriverWorks Ink on store shelves, that vision always sends a thrill through my body. I do love books ... and I love writing them, editing and publishing them. 

Watching first-time authors find their books on a bookstore shelf is also one of my favourite experiences.

Our daughter Lisa Driver found her award-winning spiritual wellness book, Opening Up: How To Develop Your Intuition And Work With Your Angels, on this bookstore shelf ...

...  right beside my award-winning Never Leave Your Wingman book! That makes sense. A book written by Lisa Driver should be beside a book written by Deana Driver. 

While at the mall that afternoon, the girls and I had a little fun with a wintery scene cut-out.

Our two daughters are in the top photo, while I am mugging it up with our youngest daughter, Dani, in the bottom photo. What fun!

Later that evening, before sitting down to watch the Corner Gas Movie (which Al and I had already seen, had thoroughly enjoyed, and were looking forward to seeing again), talk turned to Lisa and her fiancé Kyle's upcoming wedding.

Lisa had already chosen a wedding dress during a shopping trip in the fall, but I had not thought about my own wedding dress until this moment.

Our daughters were surprised to hear that my wedding dress has been in a vacuum-sealed storage box since Al and I were married in January 1976. We've moved the box with the rest of our things from apartment to house to house over the years.

You should have seen the looks on our daughter's faces when they heard this news. It was priceless.

Also priceless are these photos - which were taken as we pulled my dress out of its storage box for the first time in 39 years, and each of our daughters modelled my dress - just for fun.

I was pleased that the dress had been so well-preserved. (The blue in the sleeves is packaging to keep the lace from crumbling, I imagine.)

39 years later, the dress still looks great. I was impressed.

Lisa tried on my veil. Hmmm ... maybe she'll wear it as 'something borrowed'. We'll see.

She also checked our wedding photo to see what the veil looks like when it isn't all wrinkled.

 Dani got a kick out of my dress, too.

It's a little too big for her, but it was fun to see her wearing my dress anyway.

Lisa looked great in my dress, too, but it didn't fit her either. And those sleeve bands are not exactly in style today. Still ... you could 'shorten it and wear it again', as they said about bridesmaids' dresses in one of my favourite chick-flick movies, 27 Dresses.

Nah, I don't think that's going to happen.

After we put the dress back in its storage box - minus the vacuum seal - the girls asked how much my dress cost. They were surprised to find that I had many details recorded in our Wedding Album. (That's what I do - write it down!)

The dress was sewn by a woman in Regina. The satin fabric, lace, zipper, and veil cost a total of $39.32. (That was big money in those days.) Although I don't have a receipt from the seamstress, we recall that she charged about $100 to sew the dress. The fabric for the two red velvet bridesmaids' dresses totalled $90.73. Ah, those were the days.

Sharing these memories and my dress with our daughters was priceless. What a great day!

I also saw a note in our Wedding Album about a detail that Al and I had both forgotten. We went on our first date on January 7, 1974, when we were taking a Journalism Administration course at SAIT in Calgary. Exactly two years later, I was the main attraction at a bridal shower in Regina, Saskatchewan, just 10 days before our wedding. Wow. Time flies when you're having fun.

So on this, the 41st anniversary of our first date, I celebrate family. Especially my husband - and DriverWorks Ink publishing partner - Al Driver. 

Happy Anniversary, Al! And here's to many, many more!

Hoarfrost-covered Winter Wonderland

Although fog can lead to some serious traffic accidents, the mist in the winter air of the Canadian Prairies can lead to hoarfrost - ice crystals forming on wet surfaces - and some beautiful scenery.

Yesterday, we took a short stroll in Wascana Park, which at 2,300 acres is larger than New York's 843-acre Central Park. The park includes the Saskatchewan Legislative Building, University of Regina buildings, and City of Regina buildings. It has a unique tripartite operating structure.

The Legislative Building is undergoing reconstruction, so we concentrated our walk on an area to the east of that grand building, overlooking Wascana Lake.

Here are some photos of the hoarfrost-covered scenery. Enjoy!

This is likely the last blog I'll post in 2014, so we hope you have a wonderful holiday season.

These 'NOEL' candle holders have been in my husband's family for decades.

Al's dad began teasing Al's mom years ago by convincing our children to occasionally rearrange the letters to spell 'LEON' instead of 'NOEL'. 

Sometimes it would take awhile before Mom noticed, and our children and their grandpa would eagerly watch for a reaction any time Mom came into the room where the misspelled Christmas greeting was waiting for her.

When Mom finally saw the changed letters, she would inevitably act annoyed and ask, "Who changed these letters?"

Then Dad and the kids would giggle at their shared silliness.

Our adult children still pull that stunt on their grandma, and we look forward to it happening again this Christmas season, fondly remembering Al's dad in the process.

So from our home to yours this Christmas ...

... Joyeux Leon!