“My Journey Without Justin” book publishing project
Sometimes a project comes along that is just a no brainer. That was the case with the memoir “My Journey Without Justin: A Mother’s Journey Through Loss, Grief, and Suicide.” I was introduced to author Katrena Weathers in spring 2019 while I was just starting my tenure at Cayenne Creative. Weathers had a heart wrenching story that she wanted to bring into the world not only as a form of therapy, but more importantly as a life saving device for those in need.
Her teenage son Justin committed suicide in 2016 and she knew she had to do everything in her power to help other troubled teens. Weathers, along with her husband Andre Weathers, formed the Justin Weathers Foundation to battle teen bullying and depression. In 2019 she expressed interest in writing a book, but didn’t know where to start. I asked her to share her notes with me, and I would be happy to take it on as a side project. It didn’t take much reading for me to determine that I was absolutely committed to helping her get this story out. The narrative from those tear-soaked notes stood so firmly on their own, that I didn’t want to muddy their poignancy by inserting my own prose. Her turmoil was evident on the page and I felt the reader would benefit greatly from her unfiltered introspection. We decided jointly that I would write a brief introduction and help her organize her thoughts. She continued to send me gut-wrenching tales in the form of emails and notes from her everyday life for the next year and a half. The prose from this struggling mother was bursting with emotion. I had to ensure I had the right mental fortitude on bright and sunny afternoons just to tackle the work. I changed jobs and moved from Alabama to Texas during the project, but stayed committed to the publication. In the coming months I started my own business. Meanwhile, Weathers kept chugging along.
After many months of collecting notes, editing the copy, and recommending changes, Weathers and I were ready to print. It’s a great feeling to help produce something that may save or change lives in the future.
We couldn’t be happier with the end result. It’s not every day you get to work on things that can make such an important impact. If we make a difference in the life of just one person, then it’s worth all the time in the world.
To read more about the Justin Weathers Foundation and order your copy, please visit the foundation site.
