May 2, 2019
For those of you who have already read my book or may read it, and know me and/or my family members well, you will quickly realize that I have changed all the names. It may feel awkward at first, but quickly you will realize that names don’t really matter. It is the heart and soul of each of these wonderful people that matters. I may have changed the names, but my stories are true.
I remember as I started writing my book, I would just endlessly do so without giving much thought to anything other than managing to actually get my heartfelt words down on paper. Some days that alone was my most difficult task. But as I got close to finishing my book, and realized that self publishing it was becoming a real possibility, I started thinking about the names.
As I did, I remembered seeing Rob Lowe years ago on some talk show. He has and always will be one of my favorite actors, so his appearance caught my attention. The interview was about a book he had written about his life. I remembered him saying that he had actually written it by himself in long hand, exactly how I was writing mine. I also remembered him saying he had changed all the names . In his case of course, being an actor and knowing so many people, he probably didn’t want to get sued.
So that interview made me think. I really wasn’t worried about getting sued, because I was writing about close family and friends for the most part. But I was concerned about everyone’s privacy. I’m sure if I asked them if I could use their real names they probably would have said yes. However, I didn’t want to put them in a position where they would feel like they had to say yes. So I decided to change all the names. I did change some of the names for special reasons only I would know, but most of them I just randomly chose. Some of my family and friends have already thanked me for changing the names. So I feel I made the right decision.
I guess I am telling this story, because in order to avoid confusion and maintain the privacy of these wonderful people, I will also use the fictitious names in my blog posts. Thank you for listening. Have a beautiful day !
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