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WELCOME EVERYONE,

“What strange and unusual times we are now living in during this pandemic of  Corona Virus. It’s like we all woke up one day and life had changed overnight and still feels like this is all a “bad dream”…

Just a few months ago, it was like life was another normal day. Then this virus began to spread like wildfire and out of control while devastating everything its path. Families heartbroken losing parents and grandparents. Young and old are contracting this cunning virus and who knows how many are walking around with it and don’t even know it. Hearing too many friends also losing a parent, or a loved one has it and battling to get better. I don’t think life as we knew it will ever be the same with no cure light at the end of the tunnel.

With that said, I have learned to not take life for granted. I am blessed we have been safe and healthy and feel a little guilty that I am taking this time to begin finishing my second book, and hopefully get my third book to the finish line.  Hopefully to be able to publish when this pandemic slows and we get back to some kind of new normal.

As around late February into mid-March, my business side of things began to get slow and seemed harder to get results for my authors, and I don’t like taking money if I can’t keep some sales and reviews coming in for them. I thought I’d take a break. It has never been this slow before in the year’s I have been book marketing and thought maybe it was time to finish my own projects and get the writing juices flowing to decrease some stress over this whole pandemic.

At times it is a little challenging to focus and have been trying to stay away from TV news, backed off social media, and stop reading all the spin and stories online a well. I just try to be ‘in the know’ of the health risk and if our cases are still rising here in my state of Arizona.  One thing that has kept me sane during the few months, well, two things actually.

The first is I had started journaling more since this pandemic continued to start spreading. As it began to spread and before I knew it, everyone began wearing masks, gloves, and my husband would come home to tell me another sanitizing story the have changed at his work. He works in an “essential workforce” yes, you guessed it, a large chain grocery store as he is a Seafood Manager and Meat Supervisor. My anxiety around this is he just turned 61-years-old and still working in the middle of an unknown, you can die from, this virus.

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Well, he is a big boy who is allowed to make his own decisions and my husband is a “go-getter” and very healthy. So after a two-week furlough mandated by the meat union, he continued to work as they were becoming very short-handed. So I hold the household fort down with my three fur babies Mr. Boots, Miss Princess, and Old Simon. Needless to say, they have been getting loads of attention with brush-outs, nails trimmed, cat snacks, and ears cleaned too!

Second, my dear friend and fellow author who happens to be a fantastic life coach, Ms. Maureen Scanlon who has been coaching me by phone through a lot of my fears around this virus and many topics too! She has strong shoulders who knows how to put this CAT straight and get me on the right path to my life and long-term recovery. Everyone should hire her and at least for a couple of sessions. She puts life in prespective in uncertain times like these. I hope she knows how much I appreciate her and our friendship. I had shared with her about me still being a felon. Now, this time in life I am not proud of. But when you continue to use “addiction thinking” in the choices we make? We can still wind up a FELON.

AND? As I have been writing my second book. I have been revisiting this time when I was at the tail end of my gambling addiction and started my recovery path. I also shared some of this in my current book and memoir, ‘Addicted To Dimes’ about the time the police and sheriff came knocking on my door one evening around 4:15 PM. I was making dinner and my husband had not gotten home from work yet. We both had recovery counseling appointments that night after dinner and I was going to make the Gamblers Anonymous meeting after my appointment.

Well, God has a sense of humor and it was obvious he had other plans for me. I was arrested, handcuffed, and carted off to jail, while people outside watched the whole thing unfold. You’ll have to read my first book as I go in detail as to the WHY, HOW, and I wasn’t even gambling!! I was only there for a few hours as they fingerprinted me, took my mug shot, and then let me go. I had never had a run-in with the law before, LOL!, nor had I ever had a criminal record until then.

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So I have been writing this past week and this second book will be about more memoirs and the “Lighter Side to Recovery”…I have so many things to share since my first book came out back in 2013 and now that I have been maintaining long-term recovery, I can actually look back on some of the ridiculous things I did when beginning my recovery journey, dumb things while I was within my addiction to gambling and real advice on how to make that first year and beyond. And yes, some of it is funny.

Now, I am not saying addiction is funny, not at all. But 13+yrs in? There are some things that are from way back then, and if I can’t call out MY SHIT? Who will call out my shot? Might as well be me!! We should not take ourselves or life to seriously, even while maintaining recovery.

And in being honest and transparent, yes, I made the poor choice in 2006 to have stolen from someone. Yes, she pressed charges, and yes, I went to jail for a few hours. Yes, I took ownership and accountability for my actions. It had been the one and only time I had done anything remotely illegal. And yes, I accepted the punishment and did my community service, paid fees, court and probation fees. And LEARNED MANY LESSONS.

And I got say, there is another whole side to this as some is kind of funny. I also want to share all the amazing things that have haapened to me since my first book released! Most all by believing in a “power greater”…But you will have to wait and read all that in Book Two which will be the follow-up to “Addicted To Dimes: Confessions of a Liar and a Cheat”... I am still bouncing some book titles around for the book as well.

I shared with Maureen I was thinking of the title below and she said it was funny and that if she saw that title walking by a bunch of books in a store she would immediately buy the book!!  Would you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!!

Cat 

WOMAN DIES A FELON

More Memoirs, Musings, & The Lighter Side of Long-Term Recovery

By Author Catherine Townsend-Lyon