Finishing and polishing my first memoir has been a whirlwind of learning. After having a professional edit which was extremely thorough and well-done, a subsequent edit revealed a couple of plot inconsistencies and a few word-choice substitutions. Yet a final 3rd edit crossed a few more t's and dotted a few more i's, and I am now more confident than ever that it is not only what it is - it is finally as it will stay! Initial sales are modest and promising, but the feedback from readers has been extraordinarily positive and encouraging.
At the outset, I didn't write this memoir to launch a career, win a prize, fame or fortune. It was a story I watched unfold before me as if it belonged to someone else. On more than one occasion, I stammered "No one is going to believe this. This is stranger than any fiction I have ever read." I determined to write 80,000+ words because I could not help myself. The story demanded to be told, and as much as I procrastinated and found endless distractions, the story just kept coming and coming. In the beginning, I fretted over having enough material to fill a book. By the time I got to Part II I worried about having too much.
Have you read Spitting Image yet? If so, I'd love to read your thoughts and opinions. Post a review on Amazon and let me know if you do so that I can thank you personally. These reviews from Dr. B and AttorneyTracey1 contain the essence of my motivation. I wrote because I had to and to help, encourage, and support others involved in this crazy, lovely world of seeking and finding. I hope to read your review and your story soon!
"I did not expect the ending but I was genuinely touched. I slowed down as I neared the closing chapters because I was as interested in your story as I was in the details of how you got there. I traced your navigation in the book of the human elements as I sorted out your genealogical path on ancestry.com ...I was looking for insights into how people responded to you, your research and your determined drive to uncover more truth. Much of genealogical searching is tedious and lonely... few fathom the intense effort required. I found encouragement and a kindred spirit as I followed you online going where the science was leading. I am at that point in a portion of my own journey. Finding my own slaveholding family members and then discerning through DNA matches my half cousins, I admit has stirred up a troubling array of emotions because I know they "see me" searching. You gave meaningful expression to some of those feelings in your narrative as you challenged me to see more of all sides than just my own. To wrestle with the pain suffered by family caused by others in the family; yet allow His grace to bring me to a place of forgiveness and reconciliation so I could continue searching. Your commentaries throughout are a testimony of your Christian spirit and upbringing prevailing. You speak to the issues plaguing our society and culture even today with a good mix of love and grace, reason and clarity (I wish more of us possessed). Thank you for sharing your journey and story with me. I too believe it will help others and especially those who are searching to know more of the truth about their family... and are not afraid of what they might discover." -- Dr. B.
"Calling all Genealogical Detectives--amateur & the pros! Amazing 379 pages read I read in 2.5 hours it was so good! Check out: Spitting Image: A Foundling's Memoir of Faith and Gratitude by @RonLeviPMP (Ronald G. Levi Jr. ) https://goodreads.com/book/show/55671520-spitting-image… via @goodreads" - MS. JUSTICE, Twitter @AttorneyTracey1
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