Henny Penny Farmette

Just before Thanksgiving 2016, I was approached by my editor to write a nonfiction book about guided meditation. The deadline was extremely short (a few weeks). Still, I loved the subject and was up for the challenge. But there was a problem.

I had previously agreed to plan and cook Thanksgiving dinner for my family and my married daughter’s family. What happened next threw me entirely off my game. I’d never missed a book deadline, but I feared I might this time. Why?

My daughter was rushed into the hospital for emergency surgery even as her husband battled pneumonia. Suddenly, he, too, had to have emergency surgery.

Deeply concerned for them, I comforted their kids  and looked after their dogs even as I worked on the book, prayed for a positive outcome for both parents, and figured out what to cook for our holiday meal. It seemed impossible I could do it all, but brief meditations (taking portable pauses) during quiet moments helped me to focus.

When the drama finally ended, the two patients had returned home to recover from their surgeries, the kids worries had subsided, and I had put a traditional holiday meal on the table with the help of the kids who wanted an extra special Thanksgiving for their parents. We even whipped up some pumpkin pies.

Holiday pumpkin pie with a flourish of leaves

My understanding editor gave me three more days to finish the book . . . and I did. I felt bad about missing my original deadline, but I had plenty of reasons to give thanks.

MY POCKET MEDITATIONS is due to be released on August 8, 2017 from Adams Media/Simon & Schuster. If you have trouble finding time to meditate, this book will guide you into a quick meditation . . . even if you can find only a few minutes to dive deeply within.

If you purchase and read a copy, I hope you’ll post an online review. Here are some links to the book.

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781507203415

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-pocket-meditations-meera-lester/1125160811?ean=9781507203415

https://www.amazon.com/My-Pocket-Meditations-Anytime-Exercises/dp/1507203411/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1499966804&sr=1-1&keyw

Tags: book editor, deadline, emergency surgery, focus, holiday meal, meditation, pneumonia, Thanksgiving, tradtion