“Oh, The Places Being A Writer Can Take You!”

Do you know what I’m looking forward to the most in the women’s workshop I’ll be teaching in Italy this summer? It’s sharing my experience as a published author with other writers. I’m looking forward to sharing all that I’ve learned throughout my years of writing and publishing books: “the ups and downs, the ins and outs, and the do’s and don’ts. 

Yet being a writer is so much more. A writer takes a dream and makes it come true, and sometimes the dream of being a “writer” turns into so much more. It can take you places that you had never dreamed of  and present you with opportunities that you never knew had existed.

I’ve been writing all of my life but my first real “writing” job was as a journalist for our local racetrack, Wall Stadium Speedway. I had my own column and interviewed drivers, pit crews, safety teams and fans. It was a dream to be at the track that I grew up attending, yet here’s where the “dream I never thought of” happened. I was asked to race a factory stock car in the woman’s “powder puff” race the week before I began chemo for breast cancer. Driving on that track was a place I had never dreamed of being, yet it all came from my writing.

When I published, “Waking Up,” I had written song lyrics for the title and found a local musician to record it. You would think one song was enough, yet before I knew it I had written lyrics to 14 of the stories in the book, recorded them with the musician, and together we produced a CD. It was another place that my dream of writing took me to and it didn’t stop there: I was filmed in a music video for the song “Waking Up.” Yet, the dream kept growing. I’d find myself on the front page of our local newspaper, being interviewed on a well known radio station, doing photo shoots and performing in public as the musician and writer team called “Collaboration of Hope.” The dream continued when I sang back-up in the song I wrote about myself called “The Dreamer.” 

But wait, the perks of being a writer continued with my own internet radio talk show called “Living Your Best Life With Anne Dennish.” I’ve always loved radio but this was yet another dream that came about because of my being a writer. 

And during the book launch of my newest book, “Each Breath Along The Journey” another dream I hadn’t even imagined happened again: I was asked to conduct a women’s writers workshop in Italy.

And so the dreams that are founded on being a writer continue. 

Now you know why the women’s writers workshop this summer is so important to me. I want to be able to share my experiences of being a published author with other writers but even more importantly, I want to share my experiences of one dream turning into another, and another, and another.

Meet me in Italy this August and join my workshop. You will leave with inspiration and motivation to keep writing and to keep your eyes open to all the endless possibilities that being a writer has to offer. 

Writers turn into published authors and dreams turn into reality.

Let’s explore all of it in Italy this summer.

It’s a good thing.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

 

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“Chemo and Racing…The Game Changer”

I was a journalist for years at our local racetrack, Wall Stadium Speedway. I had my own column called “The Need For Speed,” in which I interviewed the drivers. It was an exciting time to be “behind the scenes” of the track that I grew up listening to and going to every Saturday night!

This picture came up on my memories and I wanted to share it with you. I was asked to drive a car in the women’s race called “The Powder Puff!” Of course I said yes, and once I had the driving experience I understood the passion behind the drivers I interviewed even more.

I was scheduled to start chemo a week after this picture was taken and on that night I remember telling my friends that I believed that racing scared me more! 

Yet I did it and the fear turned to excitement, and after that race I felt as though I could get through anything…and I got through cancer. 

Sometimes life hands us an adventure or opportunity that we never thought we’d have, and it’s those moments that can change our outlook on things forever.

I took that racing experience with me right through chemo and knew that in time I’d cross that finish line as a survivor.

And I did.

And it was a very good thing.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

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“Life As A Writer”

I’ve been writing all of my life, since the day I could hold a pencil in my hand and learn to spell. It’s something as natural to me as breathing. When I was a young child my stories were nothing more than a few sentences and a crayon drawing at the bottom of the page.

Through high school and college I could be found sitting on the beach like a Bohemian hippie, writing lyrics and poetry. There were nights you would find me in the hallway of my dorm, hot pot of instant coffee and me sitting against the wall with a notebook writing through the middle of the night while all the other college students were asleep.

During my marriage and raising children I began keeping a journal about my feelings of being a wife and mom. I wrote poetry and journal entries which would become short stories.

I was always writing something.

Yet until a few years ago whenever someone asked what I did I would say I’m a mom. I was a Sunday School teacher, a soccer mom, PTA mom, Cub Scout leader and a Brownie leader. There was never a mention of “I’m a writer.”

It’s funny how you can write and write your whole life and never say you were a writer.

Until my first book was published.

Well, even when it was published I still would say “I write books.”

It was my close high school friend, Rich, that said to me one day: “Why don’t you say what you are? You’re a writer. You’re a published author. You’re exactly what you wanted to be.”

Wow…I never thought of myself as that.

And why?

There’s really no definitive answer “why” I never said it or thought it; I spent most of my life raising my kids, so to think of myself as someone other than that seemed like a foreign concept to me.

Yet the truth of the matter is that I AM a writer. I AM a published author. I AM a lyricist.

And I’m even more than that.

I’m a writer who uses her words to heal and help others and try and make a difference in the world.

Writing is a part of my everyday life and as much a part of me as breathing is.

And as I’ve gotten older I’ve realized that I can use my writing to share my experiences with others; to help them through a difficult time; to let them know they’re not alone.

Writing is my voice that I want to be heard.

Writing is my heart reaching out to love the world.

Writing is my soul that shares it passion.

Writing is my passion and my dream come true.

Writing is the one way I know to reach out to people. It’s my way of helping, sharing and making a difference in one life and one day, I hope, the world.

My name is Anne Dennish.

And I’m a writer.

And it’s a very good thing…for me.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

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“3 Year Breast Cancer Survivor Today!”

 

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I’m a 3 year breast cancer survivor today! It’s amazing how cancer changed my life, all for the good. I sit here in so much gratitude today for this day, and for every day. It’s a day I remember the first day of being diagnosed, and the last day of treatment; a day of remembering those who left my life during it and thinking of the ones who stayed; I’m remembering how little I lost from it and how much I gained.

I want to give my love and gratitude to my lifelong friend, Colleen, who was there with me during the first biopsy; to my cousin, Marnie, who made chemo days a fun “girl’s day out” and was there the entire day of my surgery, having dinner waiting for me when I got home; to my best friend, Leslie, who made the later chemo days ones of “girls gone wild” days, and for all those lunches together on the way home; to Jim and Lilli, my friends from Wall Stadium Speedway, for having pink ribbons printed with my name on it and getting them to the fans and on all the race cars; and to my Wall Stadium family for all their support during my chemo days. And to all of my Facebook family, I give you my love and gratitude for your supportive and loving posts and instant messages. You’ll never know just how much all of that meant, and was so important during my journey with breast cancer. I have to say “thank you” to my boys, Dan, Noah, and Sam who were living with me day in and day out through my journey…you were all so brave and supportive to me, even though I knew you were scared, but we got through it together.

The door to cancer closed three years ago, yet it opened the door to finding love with Rob, publishing my book, writing songs for my CD, and finding myself living some amazing dreams and adventures.  I’m so very grateful to be able to say “3 year survivor and counting!”

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

 

“Making A Miracle For Matthew”

It’s been awhile since I’ve written in my column,”Need for Speed” for Wall Stadium, yet life get’s busy and we find ourselves moving along in different directions. That holds true for bn1me. I’ve been promoting my new book, “Waking Up: Lessons Learned Through My Adventures With Life and Breast Cancer.” It’s filled with motivational stories of love and hope, stories of relationships and life changes, as well as my personal breast cancer journal.

But I didn’t stop at just publishing a book; it has turned into so much more than that, and my true desire of helping others has presented me with an incredible opportunity to do just that.

It wasn’t my intention to write song lyrics, yet it happened, along with meeting and joining eric brennnnnnnncreative forces with an extremely talented musician, Sutton Thomas. So on July 1st, our “Waking Up” CD of songs that I wrote the lyrics for, and he wrote and recorded the music for, will be launched and available to the public. But the journey doesn’t stop here…

Together, Sutton and I have become “The Collaboration of Hope Tour: A Journey of Music, Motivation and Miracles.” We share the same belief:

“that it’s time to make a difference, and we can make a difference together.”

And now is the time…

One of our Wall Stadium Family members needs our help, and they need it now. Eric ericBrennan, the announcer at the track, has reached out through friends and social media that his 2 year old nephew, Matthew, has been diagnosed with a rare liver cancer. This sweet baby has started a long road of chemotherapy and radiation, which I know from personal experience, can be difficult.

Eric and his family need our prayers and our support, and Sutton Thomas and I have stepped in to help.

On July 28th, Bar Anticipation in Lake Como,NJ, has allowed Sutton and I to perform from 5-9 pm, and along with our own performance, they have graciously allowed us the chance to have a fundraiser for Matthew. Tickets will be $20, and includes dinner and drink specials as well. I will be posting the specifics as we know more of them on my page, as well as in my column for Wall Stadium.

The Wall Stadium Family was there for me during my journey with breast cancer, and we need to be there for Eric and his family as Matthew begins his journey.

I believe that one person can make a difference, yet I know that all of us together can make a miracle.

“Let’s make a miracle for Matthew.”

Mark your calendars for July 28th from 5-9. Spend an evening with Sutton Thomas and I as we perform a night of music and motivation, and your support will be the “miracle.”

Tickets will be sold in advance on http://www.intervalmediagroup.com, where you can also visit the “Collaboration of Hope” store for my book, our newly released CD, and t-shirts.

You can also support the “Collaboration of Hope” tour by “liking” the following Facebook pages:

http://www.facebook.com/annedennish

http://www.facebook.com/collaborationofhope

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

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