Life recently surprised me with an unexpected gift — a bit of time with a masterful teacher.
I spent the entire first week of September doing one of the things people do but dread to do when they’ve written a book.
They make a list of people they hope will be willing to endorse it, write up a (hopefully enticing) letter introducing their book — then they swallow their pride, gulp back their fears, and send it.
I sent just such a letter to a woman I respect and greatly admire as a midwife, as a researcher, as an author, as a teacher, as a person — Dr. Sara Wickham.
She invited me to mail her a copy.
So I popped a book into the mail, then sat back and waited for her to respond.
I woke on Saturday morning, September 14th, and saw I had an email from her.
My heart skipped a beat.
Let me tell you, it’s one thing to think about writing a book. It’s another thing to write a book. It’s yet another thing to edit (and edit and edit and edit) a book.
Then it’s a whole other thing all together to let other people see your book, especially people you respect and greatly admire
I steeled my nerves and opened the email.
And she said she liked it!
And she said it could be even better.
She began by suggesting I re-format the references, then she suggested I strengthen my positions with additional references, and then she suggested I make Homebirth: Commonly Asked Questions an appendix to Homebirth: Safe & Sacred rather than maintain it as a separate book.
I won’t lie. I was daunted by her suggestions.
I asked her almost whimsically if she’d like to implement those suggestions herself.
She said, “Yes!” and I nearly fainted!
Less than forty-eight hours later, a beautifully improved version of the book appeared in my inbox, and warm, salty tears sprang into my eyes.
Welcome to the beautifully improved version of Homebirth: Safe & Sacred!
If you’ve already purchased Homebirth: Safe & Sacred and/or Homebirth: Commonly Asked Questions from me and would like to see about exchanging what you’ve purchased for this new version, by all means, send me an email at kim@kimosterholzer.com!
Photograph by IStock
Kim Woodard Osterholzer, Colorado Springs Homebirth Midwife and Author
Books by Kim:
A Midwife in Amish Country: Celebrating God’s Gift of Life
Nourish + Thrive: Happy, Healthy Childbearing
One Little Life at a Time: Recommendations + Record Keeping for Aspiring Homebirth Midwives
