I didn’t go into COVID lockdown with the idea that I would write a book.  Oh, I’ll admit that I’ve always kind of thought that maybe, someday, if the stars align, I would like to try to write a book.  It was on the great bucket list for sure, but it was not in the “actively working towards this goal” column. 

I owe a Boston Globe writer thanks for starting me down this path.  One day, she asked her readers if anyone had found anything positive going on in their pandemic-focused lives.  When I immediately emailed her back four things in minutes, I realized I had something to say.

More importantly, I found I was a happier, nicer person for having noticed a “silver lining.”

I dared to think that others might also enjoy them, that the process of seeing my silver linings might help them feel better about their world, too.  It was not a huge stretch for me to send them to the local paper.  As an off-and-on columnist for the past five years or so, I knew they would publish my daily entries.  

When people liked them, I figured, “How hard can it be to put them together and put them up on Amazon?  Maybe they will be a help to more people.”

In daring to put my thoughts to paper, I gave myself a chance to realize a small dream.  It had been relegated to the back of my some-day-maybe-possibly-if-there-is-time pile. 

Now, eleven months into the process, I realize that the whole experience of writing, editing, creating a cover design, learning how to self-publish, researching marketing… all of this has been my completely unexpected silver lining.