Maryellen Donovan is the author of the new memoir The Road to Yesterday. She lives in Hailey, Idaho.
Q: What inspired you to write this memoir?
A: After almost 24 years of losing my husband on 9/11, I was finally inspired to write my memoir because for years I was told by family and friends that I had a remarkable story to share with others.
After losing Steve in such a monumental tragedy, my life was completely torn apart, leaving me to raise two young sons alone. I questioned, too many times to count, if I honestly had the will and strength to go on.
I wrote my story with a voice that simultaneously haunts me from the depths of despair and rises wildly with hope, love, gratitude, and resilience.
The Road to Yesterday is an honest and very raw look into what it means to be human in this crazy world. It is about finding the will to survive and then going even further and finding the power to thrive.
My hope is whatever one’s personal journey or challenges one might be facing, that I may give just a little light and encouragement in one's darkest hours.
Through my journey, I believe from my core, that those we lose are physically gone but are forever ever with us, guiding and protecting us. Today is a gift worth living.
Q: I’m so sorry for your loss…
How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: The book title was chosen after a love song that my husband wrote for me and was produced in Nashville, just two months before 9/11. After reading the words, which are printed on the first page of my book, I believe in my heart that Steve had some deep intuition that he would be leaving me.
Q: What do your family members think of the memoir?
A: My family members are extremely proud of the book that I wrote and it is because of their support and encouragement that I chose to write it.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: At this time, I have no further plans to write anything else.
The feedback has been extremely powerful. A few comments have been “your book is beautifully written and brought me to tears a number of times and in the end had made me feel proud to call you my friend.” “I’m halfway through your memoir and loving it. I am beyond proud of you for putting your story out there and being so vulnerable. It is extremely inspiring.” “Your story is truly a beautiful and heart wrenching story. I laughed and cried my eyes out.”
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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