{"product_id":"sooner-than-tomorrow-a-mothers-diary-about-mental-illness-family-and-everyday-life-paperback","title":"Sooner Than Tomorrow: A Mother's Diary About Mental Illness, Family, and Everyday Life - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eDede Ranahan\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWelcome to my world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMy story is written in diary format. I wrote it from June 16, 2013, to June 15, 2014. What I didn't know, as I was writing, was that I was capturing the last year of my son's life. Pat died, unexpectedly, on July 23, 2014, in a hospital psych ward. Suddenly, my diary morphed into a more poignant record than I'd anticipated, and after he died, I discovered Pat had been making regular posts on Facebook. I decided to add his comments to my own.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI like stories where I can extrapolate from the singular to the universal--that is where I can identify with a common denominator in another person's experience. One early reader of my diary said, \"Your story is so relatable.\" That's what I hope other readers will say.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou may relate to my story if: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou have a child (chilldren) you love more than your own life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou have a child who suffers from serious mental illness.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou've lost a child--no matter what age.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou're a member of the sandwich generation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou treasure conversations with children--especially when they're your grandchildren.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYour cat or your dog is in charge of your household.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYour bones are beginning to creak.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou wake up each morning with a huge hole in your heart but you know, somehow, some way, you have to get up and put one foot in front of the other.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou enjoy reading the other side of history--about ordinary people and their daily lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou have a sense of humor.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou've been thinking of leaving something for your descendants--a letter, story, diary, song, painting, or poem--but you haven't gotten around to it. Maybe my diary will spur you on.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMore notes about the format: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI've added a Before section (Scenes from the Trenches). Going in, I want the reader to know \"Yes, Houston, we really do have a problem.\" I've divided my diary into quarters--Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring. I introduce each with a poem--three of them are Pat's. I end with an After section I didn't see coming. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs I was writing, I had no idea, from day to day, what stories were unfolding. I learn, right along with the reader, what will happen next. We're all on a journey. Thank you for going on this journey with me. Dede\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDede posted her story in two-week increments at www.soonerthantomorrow.com. The following are readers' responses.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeautiful words with an undertone that has caught me . . . carrying me up and down. Such a good writer that I am grateful to be with you. I can borrow some courage here.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e--Janet\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo happy for the readers who will discover you.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e--Liz\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDede, every one of your blog posts has a portion that I love so much that I take a screenshot and read it over and over.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e--Stacey\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDede, I anxiously await each posting from your blog\/book. You write with such skill, and not easy when it's so personal, but your passion sprinkled with humor are the reasons that this is successful.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e--Joan L.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI've done this, the primal scream and the mother animal instinct. There can't be anything more painful, not even death. My son was a normal little boy and a normal young man until schizophrenia came calling. Now I feel so shattered. I love your diary. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e--J.H.D.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI only this was a contrived drama. It's so visceral. You're an artist.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e--Heidi F.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 480\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.97 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 08, 2019\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49199746515096,"sku":"9781732974500","price":32.9,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0759\/8830\/4024\/files\/cUVnQm1HQ0NtRmh5R0I4WlAvUzBtZz09.webp?v=1780700055","url":"https:\/\/thepinkflamingobooks.myshopify.com\/products\/sooner-than-tomorrow-a-mothers-diary-about-mental-illness-family-and-everyday-life-paperback","provider":"The Pink Flamingo","version":"1.0","type":"link"}