THE OTHER SIDE OF SOMEBODY

My first marriage started immediately after I finished high school. Although every marriage has its challenges, ours lasted more than forty-three years and only ended when my wife succumbed to small-cell carcinoma. I never made any promises about my plans, but I did tell her I had no intention of remarrying. That was probably the last thing she wanted to hear as she was gradually wasting away.

Sometime after her death, I entered into a long-distance relationship, but it didn't last because when all was said and done, our personalities clashed. I learned that, through her, you can't be your children's best friends; you have to be their parent. She didn't agree, and that was the end of it.

Years later, I met what appeared, on the surface, to be the most remarkable woman I had ever encountered. We both attended the same church, and I eventually invited her to lunch. One thing led to another, and we married. However, that marriage turned out to be a nightmare and lasted about ten months before ending.

Encouraged by family and friends to document my experiences over those ten months, and since they found it so hard to believe, they thought others would be intrigued by what a woman can achieve when determined, I seriously considered it and decided to write my story. One day, I sat at my laptop and began typing, which resulted in my latest book titled The Other Side of Somebody: The Mask She Wears for Them, the Hell She Keeps for Me.