Joanne Schmidt
Joanne's family are her backbone during tough times, injury, and sickness.
Joanne is a former student, and mother of children I taught. An intelligent, capable woman she and her husband created a business called Galloping Cows and made it into a wonderful success selling preservatives and yummy foods.
When I fell I turned to her. I knew she had suffered a serious concussion and PCS after being rammed in a car accident. She was my guru. Hers is a testament of a woman
who fought even with her disability.
Rachelle Friedman Chapman
Rachelle's story was one of the first to take me out of my funk and kick me in the backside. I must have had a lot of bruises. Maybe that is why I couldn't sit down.
Hers is a heartbreaking and unbelievable story that wakes you up at the immediacy with which the unexpected can occur.
I reached out to her when I was in a dark place and she agreed I could tell her story.
Rachelle has gone on to become a blogger and guest on many platforms.
She is educating the public about spinal injuries and doing what she can in her new way of life. Power to the people
who never give up.
Peggy Ann
I met Peggy Ann when I was well enough to attend a Paradise Writers' Retreat put on by OC Publishing in 2024. At 67 I thought maybe I was too old. Never too old I learned.
Peggy Ann was one of the participants and we started talking during a lunch break. It was obvious she had suffered major injuries and as a journalist my senses flew to high alert.
And then we shared our stories and I was bowled over by this soft-spoken lady's charm, intellect, and experience. And, I was motivated.
If she could try and fulfill some of her dreams at 75, I had lots of time to work on mine.
Since, this sweet soul, Peggy Ann has become a dear friend mentor, and muse.
I could not be more proud of the fine people who granted me permission to use their stories to educate and help others who might suddenly find themselves beaten down by life's storms.
The message is not one of defeat. It is of learning, discovery, gratitude, resilience, and determination. A fire burns to live life the best we can
even with varying degrees of crud, pain, aftereffects, and shortfalls.
I salute those who help others.
The people celebrated here are a genuine addition
to my memoir
and to lifelong learning and reaching out.
This is a website I designed to offer encouragement and support.
It is created so others not feel the despair of being alone in their battles
for THAT is the loneliest and most critical of times.