Journey of My Heart
A Memoir
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Sample 1-From Chapter 13, Page 392:
Returning to Texas, the dream we brought with us was that Sheldon would remain in his transitional recovery, and continue to live as he had during our years in Wisconsin. Within a couple of months we saw his medical condition begin to deteriorate, once again the health issues arose scattering our dreams into the winds of anxiety. We wanted to reach out and grab for all the good times, to pull them back and keep them with us; but as time passed there were fewer and fewer good times. What substained us most was our love for one another and our continued faith that, "this too, shall pass."
It didn't take long after getting back into crisis mode before everything went into overdrive, it made us remember all the things that might come to pass. I silently cried. I felt like running away, because all of his pains were again latching onto my heart, and it felt as though they were killing me too. All I know is that Sheldon made me cry, he made me laugh, he made me strong and he made me sad. My fear of the unknown nearly drove me mad. I'd worried for so many years and yet, I didn't see where one minute of those worries did a single bit of good. Nothing was ever changed by my worrying, except for me, it made me physically sick.
SAMPLE 2-From Chapter 15, Page 454:
I always knew that someday, way out in the future, Sheldon would be gone, but when that day came, I was left desperately trying to put the pieces of my life back together.
One day I was married and the next day I was single, alone in my world and grieving hard. While dealing with all those intense feelings, it felt like I was going crazy. I learned that nothing is forever.
Grief was a rough passage, a maze filled with details, shock, loneliness, anger, confusion, fear and periods with long durations of heavy depression. The days passed and sometimes it felt as if I were drowing and there was no one to reach out a hand to save me. My emotions came and went like waves crashing onto a rocky shore, some waves larger and more turbulent than others. Somehow I knew that there would be a steady current tugging against my heart for a very long time.
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About the Book
December 9, 2003, is a day Mary Ann Sheveland will never forget. With the sun just coming up and a fresh pot of coffee perking in the kitchen, she walked into the bedroom she shared with her husband that early December morning and found him dead. Death had come quickly and silently; he was gone.
In Mary Ann’s memoir, Journey of My Heart, she shares a story written with love, humility, and a great amount of faith. It is an account of emotional courage, determination, and the desire to have the best quality of life in our allotted time. She chronicles the challenges faced when caring for a terminally ill spouse and the love that she and her husband shared during the good and the bad times of their crisis.
Journey of My Heart also tells how Mary Ann overcame grief using the tools of music, journaling, travel, and the various social activities she depended upon to put her in a positive frame of mind. She hopes to help illuminate the steps along the slippery road of a progressively worsening medical condition. Gradually, with every day, she became stronger, more independent, and at peace with her new life. She emerged from grief a completely different person; she is a survivor.
About the Author
Mary Ann Sheveland grew up in a small, central Texas town and currently lives in east Texas. Her early love of music and mastery of the violin allowed her to play in the Austin, Las Vegas, and Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestras. She has two children, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.