Dream New Dreams: Reimagining My Life After Loss by Jai Pausch-Memoir Book Review

On September 18, 2007 Randy Pausch delivered his world-renowned speech entitled The Last Lecture. Pausch was a professor of computer science at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University; and had been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a terminal form of pancreatic cancer. The Last Lecture urged people to live life to the fullest.

Pausch is survived by his wife Jai, and three children, Dylan, Logan, and Chloe. Through Randy's cancer journey, Jai discovered that most cancer support and resources focus mainly on the patient; and few acknowledge the caregiver.

Dream New Dreams is Jai Pausch's debut book, validating the challenges of cancer patient caregivers. She captures a poignant, behind-the-scenes look at the pain Randy endured, and its toll on the Pausch family. Ultimately, she describes both her personal and familial rebirth while honoring the legacy of Randy Pausch.

Dream New Dreams: Reimagining My Life After Loss by Jai Pausch-Memoir Book Review

Jai met Randy when she was a graduate student at the University of North Carolina in 1998; and he was a visiting professor from Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University. Their long distance love affair resulted in marriage on May 20, 2000, and a Pittsburgh homestead. The couple bore three children within five years. The family was living in bliss until that fateful call from Randy's doctor, Labor Day weekend, 2006.

Once diagnosed, Randy chose to participate in two months of cancer clinical trials in Houston; and wanted Jai to be his primary caregiver. Logistically, it was unwise to uproot the children for that timeline, so Jai compromised. Monday through Friday she cared for Randy in Houston; and flew home weekends to be with her children.

Randy's care presented other challenges too. During most of his illness, he refused to use a wheelchair, making the simplest travel arduous; and he insisted that Jai learn his complex Excel spreadsheet techniques to monitor the family finances. When he suggested adoption for their four-month-old daughter, Chloe, to ease Jai's burdens, Jai acknowledged the extreme stress of cancer causing Randy to make such ill-conceived statements.

Despite Randy's intricate needs, Jai continued to go solo, including cooking meals from scratch. She eventually realized she needed help. "I came to understand that being strong doesn't mean not asking for help, nor does it mean not being scared."

Clinical trials completed, it appeared Randy had a fighting chance at survival. However, a follow-up appointment in August 2007 confirmed his tumor recurrence and growth to other organs. Surgery wasn't an option; and the couple faced the grim reality that Randy would soon die.

Understandably, Randy became consumed with his disease, wanting to educate the public about pancreatic cancer. In March 2008, he petitioned Congress for greater funding for the National Cancer Institute and pancreatic cancer research. Jai vacillated between supporting Randy's efforts, as more media pursued his message; and wanting him to spend precious time with his children. As Randy relished the attention, his health continued to decline.

On July 25 2008, Randy died. Jai's natural grieving process spawned, what she calls, a Year of Firsts. They included solely planned trips with the children, Christmas traditions without Randy; and tennis lessons, which she found to be energizing and therapeutic. During her court time, she wasn't Randy's widow or the Pausch children's mother, but Jai Pausch. "This is something we all need: a life outside and beyond one role, whether that role is a webmaster or stay-at-home mom," she says.

A new mantra guides Jai's life: Dream new dreams. "When a dream shatters, you should pick up the pieces and create a new one. It won't be the same as the broken one, but you can hope it will be as vibrant and exciting."

Although Randy is deceased, spiritually he thrives among the Pausch family and universe. Jai has learned to reinvent herself while still caring for her children. She's now a member of the national board of directors of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and recently remarried.

Dream New Dreams, while humanizing the devastating toll of cancer, is a story of hope well worth the read.

Jai Pausch advocates the Johns Hopkins caregiver video series called Walking On Eggshells. You can view it at: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/kimmel_cancer_center/patient_information/videos/caregivers.html

Dream New Dreams: Reimagining My Life After Loss by Jai Pausch-Memoir Book Review
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Timothy Zaun is a blogger, speaker and freelance writer. Visit him online at http://timzaun.com.

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Sydney Sheldon - Author Biographies

Sidney Sheldon was born Sidney Schechtel on February 11, 1917 in Chicago, Illinois. His mother was Natalie Marcus, a Russian Jewish immigrant with no formal education, but loved books and classical music. His father, Ascher (Otto), took many different jobs as he moved the family from town to town. He bragged that he had never read a book in his life.

Sydney was married to Jorja Curtright, an on stage and film actress and later an interior decorator for over 30 years. They had a daughter, Mary, who also became a published novelist. Jorja died in 1985. Sydney married former child actress, Alexandra Kostoff in 1989.

Even as he was growing up, Sidney loved to read and spent a lot of time at the library. He says he always knew he wanted to be a writer. When he was 10, he wrote and submitted a poem to the popular children's magazine, "Wee Wisdom", in a poetry contest, and won . When he was 12, he wrote and put on a play for his English class, his favorite subject.

Sydney Sheldon - Author Biographies

Sydney attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois where he took a full load of classes, joined the debating team, worked as a busboy in the cafeteria and took a job at the college newspaper, doing minor celebrity interviews. This was the height of the depression and money was tight and jobs were scarce. So Sydney left college to seek more work.

He moved to Hollywood, California in 1937 and took a job as a reader for movie studios along with various other jobs. Sidney did a stint in the Army Air Corp and served as a pilot, during WWII. When he left the military he headed for New York where he worked as a songwriter and a Broadway Playwright. He wrote 25 films and had three musical hits.

Sydney Sheldon moved back to California and as television became a hot commodity in the 1960's, Sidney wrote and produced the sitcom, "The Patty Duke Show", starring young Patty Duke. He also created, wrote and produced the "I Dream of Jeannie", starring Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman, and "Hart to Hart", starring Stefanie Powers and Robert Wagner.

Sydney went from screenwriter to author when he was 50 years old. His first novel, "The Naked Face", was published in 1970 after being turned down by five publishers. The novel became a best seller and won an "Edgar Allan Poe Award." He went on to write many best selling novels. So far twenty six of his novels were turned into movies.

When Sydney was 85, he published his autobiography, "The Other Side of Me." He opened the book with the story of his attempted suicide when he was 17. Sidney's father walked in on him. His father, forever a salesman, talked him out of it.

Sidney Sheldon died on January 30, 2007 in Rancho Mirage, California at the age of 89. He has been called a humble man, warm, gracious and one of the most prolific writers of his time.

Bibliography:

Novels:
The Naked Face (1970)
A Stranger in the Mirror (1976)
Bloodline (1978)
Rage of Angels (1980)
Master of the Game (1982)
If Tomorrow Comes (1985)
Windmills of the Gods (1987)
The Sands of Times (1988)
The Doomsday Conspiracy (1991)
The Stars Shine Down (1992)
Nothing Lasts Forever (1994)
Morning, Noon and Night (1995)
The Best Laid Plans (1997)
Tell Me Your Dreams (1998)
The Sky is Falling (2000)
Are You Afraid of the Dark? (2004)
Mistress of the Game (2009) (with Tilly Bagshawe)

Series:
The Other Side of Midnight (1974)
Memories of Midnight (1990)

Omnibus:
Bloodline/A Stranger in the Mirror/Naked Face (1992)
The Dark Side of Midnight (2007)

Plays:
Roman Candle (1960)
The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer (1961)

Childrens Books:
Adventures of Drippy: The Runaway Raindrop (1995)
Fun With Drippy Activity Book (1996)
Fun With Drippy the Runaway Raindrop (2004)

Nonfiction:
The Other Side of Me (2005)

Sydney Sheldon - Author Biographies
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I am a voracious reader and decided to write biographies starting with my favorite authors. To read more author biographies, please go to: More author biographies

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Prosecutor and Novelist, Linda Fairstein, Author Biographies

Fairstein is a Fellow of the American college of Trial Lawyers and for 30 years she ran the Sex Crimes Unit of the District Attorneys Office in Manhattan. She left that office in 2002. During her tenure, she helped to prosecute several high profile and controversial cases including the Robert Chambers' "Preppy Murder" case in 1986.

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Linda was born on May 5,1947 in Mount Vernon, New York. She graduated from Vassar College in 1969 with a B.A. in English Literature. Upon graduating from the University of Virginia Law in 1972, she joined the Manhattan District Attorney's Office as an Assistant District Attorney.

In 2004, Linda was named in a 10 million dollar lawsuit against the state of New York by Dr. Oliver Jovanovic. Dr. Jovanovic, a biologist, was convicted in 1998, for the kidnapping, sexual abuse and assault of a college student that he had met on the internet. His case was overturned in 1999, siting an unfair trial.

Prosecutor and Novelist, Linda Fairstein, Author Biographies

Linda Fairstein draws on her legal expertise for her series character, Alexandra Cooper, a Manhattan prosecutor. Linda says she writes her series in the first person because, "I want them 'the readers' to see victimization and then hopefully the result in the courtroom from Alex's perspective." Linda's first Alex Cooper novel, 'Final Jeopardy,' was made into an ABC television movie starring Dana Delaney.

Linda says that people that aren't very bright probably commit 90% of crimes in this country. She says that in her books, she may invent the murders, but the motives of the murders come from the motives in real cases. She says she has never written about any of her actual cases.

Linda centers all her novels in notable places around New York City. She states, "I just love having places that are real and very rich with history, and then I let my imagination loose." She says she wants each book to be an entertaining escapism, and for the reader to come away learning something new. She said for her, writing the first hundred pages is equivalent to having a root canal but after 200 pages, it's smooth sailing.

Linda loves to collect historical trivia, antique jewelry, desk and writing objects. She collects first edition books, particularly of crime and mystery genre. She also collects nineteenth century British Literature. She loves reading mysteries and her favorite television show is CSI Special Victims Unit.

Linda and her husband, Justin Feldman, live in Manhattan and have a home in Martha's Vineyard where they go each year for four months. She has a separate cottage where she plots and writes. Linda says that being a writer has been her passion since high school.

Linda is still a lawyer and takes a few cases for victims of violent crimes, usually pro bono. She also does consulting and is a keynote speaker lecturing on sex crimes and domestic violence.

Books by Linda Firestein:

Series:

Alex Cooper:
Final Jeopardy (1994)
Likely to Die (1997)
Cold Hit (1999)
The Deadhouse (2001)
The Bone Vault (2003)
The Kills (2004)
Entombed (2005)
Death Dance (2006)
Bad Blood (2007)
Killer Heat (2008)
Lethal Legacy (2009)

Omnibus:
Final Jeopardy/Likely to Die (2004)
Cold Hit/The Deadhouse (2005)

Novels:
I'd Kill for That (2004) (with Rita Mae Brown, Jennifer Cruise, Lisa Gardner, Heather Graham, Kay Hooper, Katherine Neville, Anne Perry, Kathy Reichs, Julie Smith and Tina Wainscott)
Hell Gate (2010)

Non Fiction:
Sexual Violence: Our War Against Rape (1993)
The Best American Crime Reporting 2007 (2007) (with Otto Penzler)

Prosecutor and Novelist, Linda Fairstein, Author Biographies

Elizabeth is a product of the Midwest and now lives in Arizona. She is passionate about books especially of the suspense, biography and auto biography genres. To view Elizabeth blog and read more great biographies, go to http://www.thebookwormauthorbiographies.blogspot.com.

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