The floods of disappointment and heartache makes the soul reach for higher ground.

The floods of disappointment and heartache makes the soul reach for higher ground.

Like you, l have dates  in which I   take pause to remember, life changing  experiences, like my first love, the birth  of my daughter, and  the deaths of my family members.  

Today is one of those days.

Fourteen years ago   I said goodbye to my husband of twenty-five years.  A man who loved me more than words could say and hurt me in ways that made me stronger than I ever dreamed.  He was a man whose x-ray eyes melted my armor and taught me what love really is.

On this date, August 14,   fourteen years ago, I set out to learn how to survive.  I never expected to do anything more. To imagine more, seemed impossible.

For months I cried out, fighting   the heartache which had left the bedroom light on, preventing sleep. Somehow, through my suffering, I found the strength to shove the tear soaked pillow aside and I rose to the days’ challenges. And day by day the magical wonderment of a new life opened up, becoming a pageant beyond my imagination.

I died a hundred times from fear during my first solo motor home trip across

country from California to Florida, but in the process, but I found strength not just to survive but to live big and large. I created a life which many envy.

In life, there are always hurdles and challenges, some mundane, like a flat tire, and others devastating, like the loss of a loved one. Each one is life changing, the flat tire as much as the stabs to the heart. The flat tire may have allowed me to avoid a deadly car accident. the hurt to my heart healed, making me able to love even more.

 Time moves on. New heartaches and recent losses still come my way. Each new challenge trumps the one before, cutting deeper and lasting longer. I may cry night after night   from the injustice of it all, but   in the end, the experiences open my eyes wider, make my courage stronger and my amazement of life’s intricacies awe-inspiring.

And that is worth everything.

The last fourteen years have been one hell of a ride.  I am looking forward to the next fourteen. Bring it on!

THE GRIEVING GIFT

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THE GRIEVING GIFT

Janice’s older sister, Margaret, wanted to believe that the L.A. doctors at Cedars Sinai Medical Center held a magical deck of cards, but after eight years of treatment they dealt their final card. The Hospice card. No miracles for Margaret. Janice reassures her big sister she will be there, holding her hand every step of the way.

On a death watch, you get to know things about a person you wish you didn’t. It is like a roller coaster ride. And like most rides, it brings us back to the place we began, reminding us of who we were and who we have become.

The twists and turns of Janice’s emotional journey transports her back through the repercussions of her teen pregnancy and into the present estrangement from her daughter, whom she has not heard from for the last sixteen years.

Coming to terms with the grief of losing her sweet Margaret, and dealing with her fear of a lonely future is too much for Janice to imagine. When Margaret’s soul goes to rest in L.A. heaven, how will Janice face the emptiness? Will there be such a thing as a Grieving Gift?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The death of Judy Howard’s husband gave the author a wake up call. Life is short. Howard sold her pet grooming business, which she had operated since the age of eleven and engaged full throttle into her new passions of writing and traveling.

Judy Howard’s writing career expands across many genres, including memoir, romantic mystery, reality fiction, travel and young adult, and now with THE GRIEVING GIFT, an autobiographical novel.

In all of Howard’s books the theme is always the same - overcoming life’s difficulties.

Judy lives full-time in her Winnebago motorhome with her cat, Sportster,   traveling across the country as a motivational speaker and offering writing seminars.

When Judy and Sportster are not traveling, they spend their time in Sun City, California.

Oh, and don’t forget!! Readers’ reviews  keep writers motivated.

USEFUL LINKS 

Other books by Judy Howard: JUDY’S AMAZON  AUTHOR  PAGE

Judy's Blog: The Writings and Wanderings Of An RV Widow 

JUDY'S WEBSITE

Sportster's Blog: The Cat's Perspective Of Reading, Writing And Life

Click on the link below to find out more about Judy's books.

Go to Judy Howard's Author Page on Amazon

Safe travels!

                   

CONTACT JUDY HOWARD

www.JudyHowardPublishing.com

jhoward1935@gmail.com

WISHING YOU INSPIRATION IN THE NEW YEAR!!

Sportster and I want to thank everyone who crossed our paths this wonderful and exciting  year. You all have contributed to my inspiration and success on my  journey as an author. Thank you for the  reviews. They  are five star!

I find it difficult to find the words to describe what I am feeling  as I review 2016.The adventures I experienced, the scenery that stirred me somewhere deep, and the friends I have formed all have changed me.

I am eager for 2017 as we all venture forward  with so much to share. My goal is to continue to inspire courage, through my seminars and workshops, that you, too, may share your  stories and adventures with family,  friends and the world.

Join Sportster and me  as we grab 2017 by the wheel and step on the accelerator. I hope to meet you, your friends and your families in the new year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

#grabthewheel #inspiration #courage 

 

Click On the lick below to  reach

 

Judy Howard's Amazon Author Page

Coast to Coast with a Cat and a Ghost is an autobiographical account by Judy Howard, that follows the author's road trip across country after the death of her loving yet at times abusive husband.
When her husband of twenty-five years, Jack, passes away, Howard is faced with an overwhelming sense of loss. She takes to the road in her Winnebago on a journey of self-discovery accompanied by her cat, Sportster, and Jack Incarnate, a life-size stuffed doll she creates with an eerie resemblance to her late husband. During their travels she and Sportster experience the beauty of the land as she resolves her troubled memories through conversations with the doll. She comes to terms with her deep love for her husband despite the abuse that was part of their relationship and discovers how she became a stronger woman for it.
The audiobook is a narrative, both of physical travel and of emotional and spiritual evolvement, says Howard. It leads the reader through the hills and valleys and provides insights to fear and bravery. Howard aims to weave an emotionally-charged narrative with humorous anecdotes and a unique perspective on life, engaging and inspiring the listener.

 

Going Home With A Cat And A Ghost: In this mystery-romance, Judy Howard ( who shares her name with the author) drives alone on a journey into her past, encountering the ghosts of her teenage years when she was drugged, raped, and had an illegal abortion.
She discovers the ruins of Rt. 66 as she travels alone in her motorhome with her cat Sportster and a life-sized, stuffed doll named Cowboy Jack. Will she also discover who was responsible for raping her forty years ago? Will her attacker pay for his crime four decades later? And will she find the love she lost 40 years ago?
As a widowed baby boomer, Judy Howard approaches her tortured past, her old high school crush, and her 40th high school reunion. She reaches out for what seems impossible. Will she find justice… and love?



Activate Lion Mode:Sportster the cat had always envied the huge cats who lived the big life in the jungle until opportunity sends the motorhome in which he travels veering into a roadside ditch. When strangers whisk away not only his Winnebago, but also his chauffer, Judy, he is alarmed. However, once the dust settles, he purrs a happy tune as he discovers he is free! I He is in the wild! And he is in the Olympic Forest! ACTIVATE LION MODE is just what Sportster does as he spins this yarn in his own words. Living wild and free brings on encounters he never have imagined. The life he dreamed becomes an adventure full of bears, pit bulls, drugs and more. Sportster weaves this story of his incredible journey as only a coddled cat of leisure can do.

 

Masada's Marine:
Masada and her Marine were both born two decades and two thousand miles apart, and both aspired to do be the best that they could be. But first, they had to meet.
Masada began her journey in Illinois as a bumbling golden retriever puppy and emerged twenty months later as a proud, confident American Service Dog, ready and able to protect and preserve the life of Iraq veteran, Alex March, USMC.
Alex’s journey began in California as an ambitious boy who only dreamed of protecting and preserving life for the Corps, his country and his family. Twenty years later, he emerged as one of “a few good men,” and served with honor, courage and commitment …until he came home….
“An unseen attacker, camouflaged in the crowd, cooled its heels like a terrorist. It waited to follow Alex and his family home. How could he have known what lurked on the sidelines? Another war, an invisible war, he knew nothing about and had not been trained to fight.”
Follow Iraq veteran, Alex March, USMC and his American Service dog, Masada, who rescues the wounded warrior, as they become the best they can be.e:

MASADA’S MISSION

Walking Point For A Hero

The Making of A Service Dog

By Judy Howard

 

Masada's Mission: Masada, a bumbling golden retriever puppy, struggles through eighteen months of training to become a lifeline for a veteran with PTSD.

As part of her training, the puppy is assigned to prison life, where she matures and adapts to the cold concrete life of confinement and experiences hair-raising risks, tension, and the ache of loneliness.

She forms unusual bonds, first with Roy, her inmate trainer, and in the end, the total prison population as well.  

When she walks point for her veteran down the graduation aisle, an awe of respect silences the crowd.

Will the readers also be led down the wedding aisle?  Brad and Judy, founders of the K9s for Warriors training facility,  who have reunited after a forty-year separation, face monumental responsibilities that test their relationship as they try to build the dog-training program for veterans.

A touching yet educational story, about the world of service dogs who save veteran lives.

 

Click on the link below to reach

 

Judy Howard's Amazon Author Page

 

#grabthewheel #inspiration #courage


Judy Howard
www.sportsterandme.com