Writing this Book—A Promise Kept to my Mom

In July 2015, my mother, Naomi, was in hospice care, with her three kids surrounding her and prepared to pass away into the afterlife. Mom was just a couple months shy of her 86th birthday, but she had been battling the effects of bladder cancer, a recent stroke, and a series of other health issues that eroded her quality of life for the last several of her years.

It was time, and on July 3, 2015, the end came. Mom passed away the way she wanted to, with loved ones in the room and with hospice staff at The Springs retirement home in Escondido, just outside of San Diego. The suddenness of having your parent for a life transition into death hit with a vengeance—as it does for all of us.

My brother, Ivan, my sister, Marcia, and I all said our goodbyes between tears—but before we left mom for the last time, I told my siblings I wanted to go back into her room alone, to share something privately with one of the true heroes of my life.

As I re-entered mom’s room, I rested my head on her chest and spoke gently to her. I wanted her to know that for many years, I had been contemplating writing a book. She would not be on this Earth, physically at least, to see me do it. But I wanted her to know that someday I would. And I hoped she was listening, and that she knew. Every instinct tells me she was, and she did.

I’ve thought of my mom often as we have moved toward the official publication date of Hero Redefined, on Jan. 28, 2025. Mom, I had to wind down a career and carve the time into my life to go back to my true love of writing. But by January 2024, I had written a manuscript, and throughout 2024, it was edited, perfected, and polished. Now it will be on the streets, published and available to prospective readers.

It took a decade, but my eyes are a bit moist as I realize that I kept a promise to my mom. That’s a big deal for a kid who revered his parents. Mom was a voracious reader, and a massive sports fan, and I can only hope she would have enjoyed Hero Redefined.