First, thank you for reading, in advance of reading, or even just dropping by for a look. If you take away anything from my site, please head over to ALS TDI and learn a bit more about ALS and how you might be able to help someone in need or in the quest for a cure. Our support group chooses to donate money directly to ALS research at ALS TDI. Different organizations use money differently. Donating any amount of money or time to ALS research, the ALS Association, the MDA, or any org like these genuinely helps. Whether the money goes to a medical clinic or to a group who buys wheelchairs for patients, all money matters big or small.
If you have ALS or know someone who does and need more information please don't hesitate to contact me at info@thefortyonebook.com. If you have a local support group, I encourage you to reach out and meet others in your community who are also involved with ALS. Local groups, the ALS Association, or the MDA all loan equipment to patients in need. ALS can be a very expensive and challenging disease to live with. My family has benefitted greatly from our local group.
"When I buy a hammer, I make something for you." - My father
The Forty One is a book about going home to care for my father, who was diagnosed with Lou Gehrigs Disease in 2006 and passed away in 2011, and racing to restore an old car for him before he dies.
My father got the '41 in the early 70s when I was around 2 years old. He took the car apart, painted it, and had every intention of restoring it completely, but just never quite put it back together. It sat in my backyard in various pieces for years and then in a garage for at least 20. When I came home I decided that I'd give a shot at restoring the car. As ALS is a terminal disease, that is, always fatal, it became a race against the clock.
The Forty One is my first book. I made a living (barely) as a Nashville songwriter for most of the decade before I came home. As a caretaker, I found it difficult to dedicate time and energy needed to writing songs, but making notes here and there for this story, allowed me to continue to be creative and tell my father's story.