"E" is for "Endurance"

It's calendar Day 6 of the A-Z Challenge but it's only letter #5... eeee, I'm so confused.

My theme revolves around the soon-to-be published memoir I wrote for opera singer, Donald Braswell.

"E" is for "Endurance."

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When Donald was involved in a hit-and-run accident, his life was all smooth-sailing and his career was on an upward motion that would have made an Apollo rocket blush with inadequacy.

Then, in the moment that it took for the hit-and-run driver to lose control and sideswipe Donald, the world according to Braswell changed forever.

Donald lost his voice, his career, his drive to succeed and languished at home while his wife, Julie became the sole breadwinner.

More than a year later, as he finally pulled himself out of a severe depression, Donald regained his speaking voice, but with no singing career, he had to do something. He tried his hand at many trades and over time worked for different businesses, selling new cars, insurance and even swimming pools in his efforts to keep his growing family afloat.

Then, one day, he sang for Julie... and later for his congregation.

Soon, Julie realized her high school sweetheart had never quit on his dream.

She applied, without him knowing, to America's Got Talent.

If you missed my C post, I shared a six-minute NBC video, which shows Donald's first audience audition on AGT. Click HERE to watch, and wait until you see what happens at 2:00 when Donald begins to sing...

Last week, I called that audition courageous - and it so was - but it also serves as a testament to Donald's endurance.

 

Donald said his parents (both former Broadway performers) taught him early on that when he started a performance, he needed to finish, no matter what happened, no matter what went wrong.

He says, "Dad told me, 'The true mark of a professional is that you never, ever stop and start again.' Continue until the last note, and then you leave the stage. That's when you stop."

 ......

On a personal note, writing Donald's story became a journey of endurance for me.

It's not that the memoir was hard to write - it wasn't - and his story is so inspiring that REVIVAL: The Donald Braswell Story easily turned into a labor of love.

 

Through all the rewrites, the reedits of edits, the nearly yes's, the no's, the hell no's, and the self-doubt that tried to permeate through my thick skull, I wouldn't give up on REVIVAL. It's taken six years, but thanks to Pen-L Publishing (and God's timing) the book comes out this November 3.

 

I truly believe Donald's no-quit attitude will have a positive, inspiring impact on thousands of people who struggle today with a Life Issue. REVIVAL was a honor to write and it's a privilege to share some background with you this entire month.

 

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Tomorrow: "F" is for "Friends"