Gebundenes Buch

Tapestry of Poetry, Pathos and Love

One Man's Unique Strategy to Elevate Optimism in His Cancer-Stricken Wife

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When Doctors diagnosed Jack's wife, Debbie after a four year mini-remission with recurrent breast cancer for the somewhat rare triple negative variety, Jack looked for a way to up his caregiving game. This is Jack's story, expressed in heartfelt poetic verse, of his efforts to leave everything on the metaphorical field while caring for Debbie during surgical and cancer treatments. At first, he began presenting Debbie with encouragement style "you got this" cards that took many different forms across myriad card companies. In some, he penned short verses of "love and support" poetry. Predictably, these were met with broad smiles and loving expressions. Having hoped and prayed that this nasty "beast" would not recur, resurgence was a hard pill to swallow. Debbie, ever the optimist, never wavered in her positive attitude of overcoming just another "bump in the road." Jack, with more of a "glass half-empty" persona was less sanguine but vowed to stay upbeat. Part of his own therapy to stay visibly positive involved committing demon-fed emotions of fear and anger to paper in the form of poetry; his catharsis. None were share with Debbie. With 100 days remaining in Debbie's therapy, things changed. Visiting the radiation center twice per day, accumulated exhaustion seeped in. Yet, the end was in sight. Jack, inspired by a desire to "leave everything on the field," attempted to write a poem per day, praying he had the wherewithal. How many ways existed to express love, encouragement, and support; one essential theme defined in a hundred different ways. He accomplished this and more, subsequently deciding to publish all his poems to formally document the experience, further exhibit his love for Debbie and create a family legacy for future generations. In his comprehensive Introduction Jack talks to his longtime relationship with Debbie and offers detailed explanations for writing his poems as well as for deciding to publish the book, exposing the deepest elements of emotional anguish. The themes expressed in Jack's poems transcend this couple's cancer experience. Others in similar situations can profit from Jack and Debbie's story. Lessons about giving everything to a loved one suffering from cancer or another disease together with caregiving may be imported. Jack's use of humor, autobiographical anecdotes, and professional illustrations for each poem add color and context to the mix of poems and personal pieces of history that defines the sixty years of their relationship in this marvelously scripted love story.

Weniger Details

Colonel Jack Stevenson, United States Army retired, grew up in Salisbury, Maryland with his childhood friend and later sweetheart, Debbie. After a serendipitous meeting at school lockers while thirteen years old, their friendship and love grew steadily through college, including four years at the West Point Military Academy for Jack. Marriage followed immediately thereafter. An exciting military career lasting twenty-six years ensued. Overseas assignments included infantry, paratrooper and later logistics duty in Germany, Italy, and Korea. From lieutenant to colonel Jack led and commanded units at each level rising to his most impactful position as battalion commander of nearly 2,500 soldiers supporting the Army's elite 82d Airborne Division during Operation Desert Storm- attendant to Saddam Hussein's (Iraq) invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The singular achievement of his unit included the performance of 500 line-haul drivers logging over four million miles delivering fuel, ammunition and supplies without a single accident nor fatality. An ABC news crew visit to his unit in the desert, led by anchor Sam Donaldson, just prior to the U.S. forces movement into Iraq interviewed Jack on camera. He praised the achievements of these "elite and heroic" drivers, who during one six-week phase, drove thirty hours continuously, six hours off, then repeated. An edited clip of his interview was aired on ABC news. Among Jack's military awards and decorations are the Superior Defense Service Medal, Legion of Merit, and Bronze Star. After retirement from the Army, Jack joined the private sector spending the next few years as a Director of Logistics for internet service and satellite communications firms, responsible for international logistics services in seven countries in Europe and Asia. Later, he rejoined service to the U.S. Army as a senior consultant to the office of the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics in the Pentagon, led by a three-star general. A lasting retirement came when his wife, Debbie, was diagnosed with cancer in 2015. Jack's interest in writing poetry stems from short verses he penned for Debbie even before marriage. He continued composing for her intermittently over their fifty years of marriage. Attraction to this art form led him to undertaking a near full-time composition role during Debbie's recurrent cancer in 2019.