We welcome our friend and fellow writer D.G. Kaye to Views from Eagle Peak today. She’s here to tell us about her newest book, Twenty Years: After âI Doâ: Reflections on Love and Aging. Itâs on my list to read in 2018âI am so looking forward to it!Â
Along with her reason for writing this book, she offers an excerpt on mortality and a couple blurbs that will make you want to put it on your reading list. Take it away, D.G.!
Writing this book was a true labor of love. The book stemmed from little things that popped into my head last year when my husband took ill. I was riding a roller coaster of emotions for much of the year with my husbandâs health, and it got me thinking about how much had really changed through the years as his aging was happening well ahead of mine.
Iâm not suggesting that time isnât catching up with me too, but what I mean is that my husband happens to be two decades older than me, and when we first got married I let that factor slide because there were so many good reasons to get married. But itâs a learning curve when you have a ringside seat watching your spouse go through situations that become a bit more difficult as the body ages and sickness sometimes takes its toll.
It was an actual statement that my husband made one day that lit up my brain with the book idea. He made a comment out of the blue â âWeâve been together twenty years.â When you read the book, you will understand why that statement spurred the title of the book. And from there, well, it got me thinking about some of the day-to-day activities we do that tend to get altered as one ages, as well as some of the things about the future we donât normally tend to think about when weâre younger, but become things weâre forced to think about and reckon with.Â
The basic formula that I can share to keep the engines of a marriage running smoothly is to always remember compassion and kindness, listen with your heart, talk about your feelings, be a supportive partner, and donât forget to include laughter in your life every day!
Chapter â Questioning Mortality (an excerpt)
Dying is a part of life, the end result of having had the privilege to live. The life we live is the middle between the two bookends, birth and death, and all the living between the pages becomes the stories people will remember us for. I always felt it morbid to talk about dying, and Iâm also superstitious when it comes to speaking out loud about death. I fear Iâm opening a door to invite it in as though death were an entity that could hear me speak in the same way that I hope God hears my prayers when I pray. But the fact is that the end of life is inevitable for everyone, whether we think about it or not. No amount of praying, pleading, or wishing to live forever will change that fact.
Blurb:Â May/December memoirs.
“In this personal accounting, D.G. Kaye shares the insights and wisdom she has accrued through twenty years of keeping her marriage strong and thriving despite the everyday changes and challenges of aging. Kaye reveals how a little creative planning, acceptance, and unconditional love can create a bond no obstacle will break. Kayeâs stories are informative, inspiring, and a testament to love eclipsing all when two people understand, respect, and honor their vows. She adds that a daily sprinkling of laughter is a staple in nourishing a healthy marriage.
Twenty years began with a promise. As Kaye recounts what transpired within that time, she shows that true love has no limits, even when one spouse ages ahead of the other.”
Editorial:
âTwenty Years: After âI Doâ shows not only newly married couples but also those in the middle of their lives how to navigate companionship challenges and show love and kindness to their partners, handling life together gracefully and in harmony.
Multibook self-help author D.G. Kaye demonstrates, using examples from her own marriage, how to really commit to a relationshipâtill death do us part.â â Doris-Maria Heilmann, 111 Publishing
BIO:
Debby Gies is a Canadian nonfiction/memoir author who writes under the pen name of D.G. Kaye. She was born, raised, and resides in Toronto, Canada. Kaye writes about her life experiences, matters of the heart and womenâs issues.
D.G. writes to inspire others. Her writing encompasses stories taken from events she encountered in her own life, and she shares the lessons taken from them. Her sunny outlook on life developed from learning to overcome challenges in her life, and finding the upside from those situations, while practicing gratitude for all the positives.
When Kaye isn’t writing intimate memoirs, she brings her natural sense of humor into her other works. She loves to laugh and self- medicate with a daily dose of humor.
Why I Write
I love to tell stories that have lessons in them, and hope to empower others by sharing my own experiences. I write raw and honest about my own experiences, hoping through my writing, that others can relate and find that there is always a choice to move from a negative space, and look for the positive.
Quotes:
                âLive Laugh Love . . . And Donât Forget to Breathe!â
                âFor every kindness, there should be kindness in return. Wouldnât that just make the world right?â
When Iâm not writing, Iâm reading or quite possibly looking after some mundane thing in life. Itâs also possible I may be on a secret getaway trip, as that is my passionâtraveling.
Books and links to buy them:
Twenty Years: After âI Doâ
P.S. I Forgive You
Conflicted Hearts
Have Bags, Will Travel
Words We Carry
MenoWhat? A Memoir
Please feel free to connect with me on social media and any of my author and blog pages at:
 www.dgkayewriter.com
www.goodreads.com/dgkaye
www.amazon.com/author/dgkaye7
www.twitter.com/@pokercubster (Of course thereâs a story to this name!)
www.facebook.com/dgkaye
www.about.me/d.g.kaye.writer
www.linkedin.com/in/DGKaye7
www.google.com/debbydgkayegies
www.instagram.com/dgkaye
www.pinterest.com/dgkaye7
www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/DGKaye7
