Blog or book?

Writing a book is an idea I've been toying with for a while. People tell me all the time that they think I should write a book because they think I'm so "inspirational." I understand what people are saying, but this high praise always makes me cringe a bit because I'm not trying to be an inspiration. I'm not trying to do anything grand; I'm just making the best of my life. I AM glad I can show people that it IS possible to go through something traumatic/life-changing and still live a joyful life. So even though I'm not trying to be an inspiration, I'll take the complement and consider it a challenge to continue to live the best way I can.

Back to writing a book. I actually started writing back in 2004. I wrote about my accident, my recovery and my personal experiences as I exited the "normal" world and entered the disabled world. I'm glad I wrote those experiences down when I did, because although I have a great memory, time has a way of bluring even the most vivid details that you're sure you'll never forget. I put my book on the back burner after I wrote down my initial thoughts and experiences because I developed a bit of "writers block" and I wasn't sure how to proceed.

Fast forward 4½ years to the summer of 2009. I felt the desire to start writing again, but going back to my book didn't appeal to me. Several people including family and friends suggested I start a blog. At first I didn't like this idea at all because I wasn't sure what I would write about or who would read it. I e-mail my family and close friends about the things I'm up to, so I didn't think there'd be anyone else who would be interested in my life. I was wrong. My blog has really taken off in the past year and a half, and I receive lots of comments from people, even complete strangers, who really like what I have to say.

I'm still on the fence about whether I will ever get back to my book, or if I should just stick to blogging. I've already blogged a lot of what I wrote in my book, so I wouldn't want it to be redundant. I guess I'll have to keep thinking about it. One thing I've learned over the past several years is to, "Never say never," because I never thought I would write a blog. (And when I started blogging, I never thought I would enjoy it so much!)

*If you're interested in reading more about my accident, recovery and how being paralyzed has changed my life, scroll to the bottom of this page. I've created a chronological list of the posts where I've talked about my accident, so just click the title of the post you're interested in, and it'll take you there!