The Birth of a Book

 

When my book was published, my friend, mentor, and teacher, Dr. Paul Ponchillia, called to congratulate me.
“How long have you been working on this book?” he asked.
Thinking back, I first answered, “Since January of 2012.”
Paul was silent.
Thinking back, I revised the date, saying, “No, it was more like some time in 2008 or so.”
More silence…

It was actually in 1990.

How This Book Came To Be

Timeline The table below began it’s life as a timeline for the birth of a book. Today it’s about how the book came to be. But it’s also about the birth of a public speaker. Date PROGRESS REPORT URL or graphic or Metric 1990 First try at writing my story 2008 Wrote my own rehab story February 2012 Started blogging on BlogSpot.com Sue’s Early Writings February 2012 First web publication/guest blog on AssumeLove.com“Why Be Married? For the Intimacy” Why Be Married? For the Intimacy March 2012 Started websiteOutOfTheWhirlpool.com www.Outofthewhirlpool.com April 2012 “Why Be Married? For the Miracle of Love and Life”Guest blog post on AssumeLove.com Why Be Married? April 2012 First Blog Review of my Website, “OutoftheWhirlpool.com: A Valuable Resource for Those Wanting to Learn About Blindness.”“Fred’s Head,” the blog site for the American Printing House for the Blind. Written by Terrie Terlau, PhD & Adult Life Project Leader A Valuable Resource June 2012 “Out of the Whirlpool: The Story of a Suicide Survivor& the Rebuilding of a Life.”Blog post, Vision Aware VisionAware July 2012 Jonathan Mosen speaks with Sue Martin: “Blinded as the result of a suicide attempt, Sue put her life back together to become a successful professional. In an attempt to help others, she has begun writing about her life experiences.” Freedom Scientific Pod Cast #68 August 2012 “Putting Life Back Together”Guest blog post for Beth Finke Putting A Life Back Together September 2012 Climbing ‘Out of the Whirlpool’Guest blog post originally posted on theVeterans Health Administration internal blog Climbing-Out-of-the-Whirlpool September 2012 First speaking Engagement at The Iris NetworkPortland, Maine @ 10 attendees September 2012 Speaking Engagement at Career CenterBangor, Maine @ 25 attendees September 2012 “Reading about Sue Martin”Blog post on suicide attempt survivor site Reading About Sue Martin October 2012 Speaking Engagement at Center for the Visually Impaired, CVI, Atlanta @ 30 Attendees October, 2012 Speaking Engagement, “Peak Experiences with our Dogs” Georgia Guide Dog Users, Atlanta, Georgia @ 25 Attendees November 2012 Speaking Engagement Northeast Regional Conference of the Association of the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually ImpairedProvidence, Rhode Island @ 65 attendees January, 2013 Peak Experiences, Top Dog 2013Savanah, georgia Top Dog Workshop@ 65 attendees January, 2013 Banquet speaker, Top Dog, 2013Savanah, Georgia? Top Dog Workshop@ 90 attendees April, 2013 Blog post book review“A Great New Book on How to Survive Tough Breaks” Assume Love: A Great New Book on How to Survive Tough Breaks June, 2013 “My life is better than I ever dreamed”Guest blog post on attempt survivor blog of American Association of Suicidology June, 2013 June, 2013 “Talking with Sue Martin”Interview on net radio program, Talking About Suicide Talking with Sue Martin June, 2013 Announcement of my book on Vision Aware www.visionaware.org July, 2013 Speaking Engagement, “Sterling to steel,” Banquet speaker for GDUI at ACB National Convention, 2013 Speech: “Sterling To Steel”@90 Attendees July, 2013 Author panel, ACB 2013 convention @50 Attendees September, 2013 Guest blog post published on Vantage PointOfficial blog of the US Department of Veterans Affairs Step-by-step:  Rebuilding A Life After A Suicide Attempt October, 2013 Blog book review: “Sue Martin’s ‘Out ofThe Whirlpool’– A Must Read”www.ZoomedIn.com, the AI Squared blog A Must Read November, 2013 Added to list of speakers who have survived a suicide attempt by the American Association of Suicidology List of Speakers — “Suicide Attempt Survivor Experts” November, 2013 Delivered Sterling to Steel at Augusta VA medical center @85 Attendees November, 2013 The Tech Doctor podcast The doctor is in, A psychologist chats with the author December, 2013 Presentation International AER O&M Conference 2013 O&M Conference August, 2014 Presented Sterling to Steel at first International conference @90 attendees December, 2014 Presented Sterling to Steel to second International conference @90 in attendance October, 2014 Presented Seen and Unseen Disabilities at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC @60 in attendance