But, I'm still feeling the love from a weekend of celebration. Saturday's book launch party brought together friends and family to help us toast the publication of Determined to Matter. My publishers even came to town to meet the characters they've been reading all about!
My parents came in from Nevada for the festivities. They were proud, and I guess no matter how old you are, it still feels good to please your parents. Erin was happy and proud, too. If you can get compliments from your tween daughter, you have to consider it a pretty good night.
But, the whole point of writing this book is to help us remember Shannon and carry her with us as we move on. Sure, it's nice to have people tell you "good job" and writing a book does feel like a big accomplishment. Of course I hope we sell a lot of copies because that will help support the Shannon O'Hara Foundation. But, in the end, I wrote this book to remember Shannon. To remember her spirit and to hopefully help others remember to live a good life in the time you have here.
Shannon symbolizes so much good for those of us who knew her. One of Shannon's cousins, Sean, couldn't be with us at the party. He had a prior commitment - graduating from college. Seanny has a giant heart, and he carries Shannon's spirit with him. He even took her along to graduation.
