You may know that Craig Farnsworth, co-founder of the Marriage Transformation Project, was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor in the summer of 2007. You can see information about how this has affected him, his wife Susanne Alexander, and their marriage at their blog:

http://www.factbasedspiritguidedpath.blogspot.com/

Creating a Book! Here's How You Can Participate!

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. ~Eleanor Roosevelt

We are looking for people to share brief anecdotes and short stories that are a touching, uplifting, or funny glimpse into the lives of couples strengthening their marriages while responding to a diagnosis of cancer.

If you are willing to participate through contributing to this book, please see the details below.

Submit to: Susanne@marriagetransformation.com
(phone: 216-383-9943).

Become a possibilitarian.  No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities - always see them, for they're always there. ~Norman Vincent Peale

Details!

Please Submit Your Stories About Marriages Touched By Cancer!

Deadline: Spring/Summer 2008 [Feel free to share this request with others.]

We are creating a book about marriage and cancer and welcome your submissions. You know the old saying about what to do when life gives you lemons..make lemonade!! We (Susanne Alexander and Craig Farnsworth ) are spouses, marriage coaches, authors, and book publishers and are inviting you to participate. Craig was given a bunch of lemons, in summer of 2007, when he was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. The time since then has been a series of both challenges and lemonade-making episodes for us both.

Here are the guidelines for submissions:

Length: Anecdotes and stories can be from one paragraph up to several pages. There is no expectation or request that people will write their whole cancer journey story...simply for them to share brief glimpses of significant moments.

Quantity: You can share as many as you wish. There is no limitation on submissions.

Who Can Submit: Submissions can be from the person with the cancer diagnosis, from the care-giving spouse, or from relatives or friends who have an observation on the marriage.

Focus: We hope submissions will touch, inspire, or uplift the reader. Please focus on how cancer has affected the marriage relationship, how you have responded to cancer as a couple, or how the marriage has changed or strengthened. You can include something difficult you faced, but please try to include a positive aspect or outcome. You might include a lesson learned, a moment of love expressed, a time when hope triumphed, a challenge overcome, a circumstance when you reached agreement or unity, or a humorous incident or slant on a situation. We want to show the unlikely and unexpected gifts that come from the adversity of cancer and the positive or funny moments that occur in the middle of responding to a diagnosis of cancer.

Relating to Cancer: Stories can come from any moment of the experience, from the time of hearing of the diagnosis, throughout the illness, or at the end of life.

Chapter Outline: The initial draft structure of the chapters follows. Seeing these topic areas may suggest story possibilities to you:

• Giving Acts of Thoughtful Service
• Sharing Moments of Joy, Fun, and Humor
• Demonstrating a Compassionate Heart and Respect
• Waiting Patiently and Persevering
• Being Truthful and Trustworthy
• Being Flexible and Resilient
• Showing Assertiveness, Confidence, and Courage
• Being Loving, Caring, and Encouraging
• Being Moderate and Wise
• Drawing on Spirituality and Forgiving Everything

Cancer Content: Please make it clear either within the story or in a note at the end what type of cancer is occurring and in whom, as well as when it was diagnosed.

Editing: We reserve the right to edit all submissions for clarity, grammar, punctuation, and length. We reserve the right to choose what stories to publish and which ones not to publish.

Attribution: We will not accept anonymous submissions. However, upon request, we will publish stories anonymously. All submissions should include the following contact information:

• Name
• Full Address
• Telephone Number(s)
• Email Address (if you have one)
• Website, blog, etc. (if you have them)

Stories can be submitted to us as follows:

• Email: Susanne@marriagetransformation.com
• Microsoft Word or plain text file (either on CD by mail or attached to an email)
• Fax: 216-383-9953
• Mail: 25241 Chatworth Drive, Euclid , OH , 44117 , USA
• When needed, a story could be called in to us and we will record it, or we could do an in-person or telephone interview. Call 800-501-6682 or 216-383-9943 to discuss.

If you have questions or comments, please contact us. We welcome hearing from you!

Susanne Alexander, 216-383-9943 or Susanne@marriagetransformation.com

Craig Farnsworth, 216-383-9943 or craig@marrriageteransformation.com

Website address: www.marriagetransformation.com

Note: There will be no payment to individuals and couples for story submissions. A portion of the sales of this book are planned to go as a donation to The Gathering Place, a not-for-profit cancer support and education organization in Beachwood, Ohio, in honor of Stephanie and Dustin Dornbrook. www.touchedbycancer.org

DEADLINE REMINDER

Please submit stories as soon as possible, but no later than:

Spring/Summer 2008

If you need an extension for some reason, please be in communication with us.