How “Healed on the Inside” will help people
Doing publicity for a book is an interesting process. It forces you to think like a salesperson. You must answer, "Why should someone buy your book?"
I've done some Healed on the Inside interviews recently, and I've found myself saying something similar in each interview: "Healed on the Inside is the book I would have wanted someone to give me when I was first diagnosed with cancer."
A reporter I spoke to for 45 minutes today followed that statement up by asking why I thought Healed on the Inside would have made a good gift on that horrible day.
I thought, "Great question." Then I thought, "How do I answer that?"
I 100% mean it when I say Healed on the Inside will be helpful to people going through a crisis — I don't say it just because I think it sounds cool or simply to sell books — but I hadn't thought my reasoning all the way through. My statement was based on a gut feeling.
So, I took a second to gather my thoughts and said, "Healed on the Inside can definitely help people for several reasons. And I don't mean just cancer patients. I mean anyone going through something hard."
Here are expanded thoughts on the reasons I gave:
Healed on the Inside stresses the benefits of turning your problems over to God. Whatever it is you're going through, He's got you. That doesn't mean the outcome will always be what you want, but You can let Him carry the weight. Things go better for me when I put my trust in God. Again, that doesn't mean I always get what I want. Instead, it means I can be at peace with things I can't control. God has a plan, and I grew closer to Him during my cancer battle by putting my fate in His hands. I know that — good or bad results — He will take care of me and my family.
My book also encourages people to live while they're alive, offering an illustration of an average human being doing precisely that. Throughout my health fight, I have learned to appreciate each sunset and to laugh with my family even on the hard days. I take walks when I don't physically feel up to it. I stay up and talk too late, even when I need sleep. The idea is that while the future may be difficult or grim, I am here and breathing today. Why not make the most of it?
Healed on the Inside demonstrates the importance of leaning on family and friends. Part of cancer's silver lining has been learning how loved I am. I have talked to people on the phone more than ever before. Sometimes, we have talked about cancer, but often, we have not. Instead, we've simply connected. And I have learned more about my wife in the past year than in the previous eight years. You learn more about people when times are hard than when they are good. So, turn to your people and let them love you through the bad days.
This book will show people that it's OK to be human. It captures all the ups and downs of a health crisis. It will make people laugh and cry, the same way my journey has done to me. And that's OK. Life is filled with highs and lows. You don't have to be entirely positive every moment, and you don't have to be defeated, either. You can be a person. The words in Healed on the Inside will show readers what to expect when things get hard.
