It’s the little BIG things

reading time 2 minutes

Then: Sam’s Green Day CD

I remember after we left the store, on the ride home, how upset Sam got while we were listening to his new Green Day CD, the one he’d begged me to buy.

“Dad’s gonna kill me!” He started crying. “Mommy, I didn’t know that song had a bad word in it.”

“It’s okay, Sam. You’re not in trouble. Don’t cry.” I knew he was afraid we’d take the CD away from him. Later, David would make Sam a mixed CD so he could listen to his favorite songs minus some of the bad words.

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Now: Permission to use Green Day lyrics

I’d been waiting ten weeks to hear back from the music publisher for permission to use Green Day lyrics in my book. (I’d given up.) It was on Thursday when I needed to send my final manuscript to be typeset. I’d wait one more day until the next morning and then send my final draft (on Friday). I’ve become accustomed over the years to letting go of things, letting things be as they are. Sadly, I had to go back and eliminate and/or rewrite the sections in different chapters that contained Green Day lyrics. I didn’t want to but…I didn’t have permission, so…I edited the chapters, accepting that this was the way it was going to be. Though I would miss what wasn’t there (and Sam would too), a reader wouldn’t know what was missing.

That next morning, on Friday, just before I was about to send my “final proof” to be printed, an email popped in from the music publisher. What?! Permission granted. Stop the presses! It felt like a tiny miracle! A little BIG thing! Which made me really glad I waited, just a little longer, and didn’t send the manuscript a minute earlier. I restored the chapters to how I’d originally written them, lyrics woven into scenes; added the credits for the copyright page, and did a little happy dance!

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This chapter excerpt below is from my book Willower: rewriting life after unimaginable loss (to be released this October).

♥