And The Answer Is...
Beverlye Hyman Fead -- June 16, 2008
My granddaughter called me and said she wanted to do a book with me. That was two years ago. She was eight and in the second grade. She was dead serious. And not only that, it was a great idea for a book.
It all started because she told her mother she wanted to do a book report for her second grade classroom on my first book I Can Do This: Living with Cancer, Tracing a Year of Hope. Her mother, my daughter, said she didn't think that it was appropriate. Tess knew all too much with a grandfather dying and me having cancer. She asked, "Why don't Nana and I write a book to explain cancer to children?" She called me and I loved the idea. I asked her to write a bunch of questions down and we would pick the most important ones and then I would answer them (with the help of a lot of research). We spent a lot of time with cookies and teas looking over the questions and talking about what kids would want to know. I would tell people about our idea and everyone would say, "What a great book. You'll have no trouble getting a publisher for this one." We wrote it and rewrote it. Tess had soccer, homework, and after school-theater. I sold my house, remodeled a new one, and then moved. And still we wrote. We had a wonderful time, my co-author and I. We were passionate about it.
I had become a Legislative ambassador for the American Cancer Society (ACS) along the way. And knowing they published books I sent the finished manuscript to them, thinking it was a perfect fit. I couldn't believe it when they sent it back saying they loved the manuscript and they would send it along to others in the publishing department. "That was easy," I thought. Everyone was right. Well, it turned out it wasn't so easy. I then heard back that their publishing department had picked their quota for this time slot and to try them again in six months with no promises.
So I started looking for other avenues. I started sending out the query letters with the manuscript. The book would come back with lovely letters explaining they didn't know what to do with it. "It was very important," they reiterated but not for them. "Cancer books are hard to get published," they all said But I knew it was perfect for the ACS. I just had to wait months to send it back to them. I didn't write at all. Three or for months went by. I rejoined my favorite poetry class led by Perie Longo and started to work on a new book of poetry on aging that rejuvenated me. Tess and I decided that somehow we would get our book out to cancer centers.
Finally, it was time to send the book back to ACS. A couple months went by and we didn't hear anything. I emailed, and they emailed back and they said please bear with them, they were short staffed, so please understand. Three more months went by. It was torture.
Tess was now in fourth grade and I was growing older by the minute. Then one day I got a very exciting email from the ACS. "We think it's a go, 99%," they said. But it had to get one more confirmation (usually a "formality" they claimed). I called Tess immediately. "They're going to publish our book Tess," I said. We were both screaming on the phone. I also told my friends at the Writers Lunch and my poetry group. After I did this, I thought, "Oh my God why did I say anything? It wasn't 100% and it could still not happen." Everyday I'd check my email four or five times. I would imagine them saying "We're sorry but we can't publish it after all." Three weeks went by. What I fool I was. I emailed, "Any word?" I pleaded. "Not yet," they said. I emailed Tess "no word yet." I had to be in Los Angeles for three days last week. I asked someone to go to the house to check my email. While she was there I called to ask what was happening. As we were talking she said, "Oh Beverlye! You're not gong to believe this. Len Boswell (the editor from ACS) emailed you with the heading 'And the answer is...' with a big 'YES.' The book was going to be published 100%."
I couldn't wait to call Tess Hamermesh, my ten year old co-author, to tell her the good news, but here's the story from her point of view.
When I was in Second grade in Ms. Carr's class, I needed to do a book report. I wanted to do this on my grandmother's new book I Can Do This: Living with Cancer, Tracing a year of Hope. My mother said that that would not work because of the subject. I, having a family history of cancer, knew a lot about the disease. But, as my mom said, not many children my age knew about cancer like I did. Then, I said "Why don't Nana and I write a book and explain cancer to kids?"
My mom loved the idea and told me to call Nana right away. I dialed the number and waited for her to answer. "Hello" I heard. I told Nana it was me and explained my idea to her. She loved the idea like my mom. She told me to write down a bunch of questions and when I came up the next time we would pick the most important ones together and Nana, with some help from some research, would answer them. Then, we were like a factory of two people. We worked and wrote and rewrote. We drew and redrew.
It was the hardest I had ever worked. We talked over cookies and tea about what to say and what to do. We realized that we weren't kidding. This wasn't just a dream. It was for real. One day, in 2008 I got a call from Nana. She called and said "Tess, Tess! I got the letter back from the ACS (American Cancer Society) they're 99% sure about publishing our book!" I screamed. "Oh my gosh!" I yelled. "Finally, after months of waiting!" she then told me that they weren't 100% sure that they were going to publish it. We both prayed for the letter saying it was a done deal would come. Then one day, it happened. The 100% YES came! I was as excited as an athlete when they win a competition. My dream was now really, truly, real! YES!
Beverlye's upcoming second publication, Nana What's Cancer?, is a book written by Beverlye Hyman Fead and her ten-year old granddaughter Tessa Hamermesh. It was Tessa's idea to explain cancer to children. An adult and child sit down together and have their own healing conversation: Tessa asks the questions and Beverlye, with much research and advice from experts, answers them. An except is available on Beverlye's web site.