She Spent 8.5 Years Caregiving for a Husband with a Brain Tumor — Then Published 3 Novels in 2 Years

In his last coherent week, after eight and a half years of a brain tumor that had stolen him one layer at a time, Gerard came back. He told his wife she had been to hell. Then he asked her to promise him two things: love again, and write the novels. She scattered his ashes in Ireland and started writing that same night.IN THIS EPISODE:A fifth-generation Michigan girl who read every library in town — and ended up in the Reagan White HouseHow CEO Frank Popoff found her writing speeches that didn't sound like business speeches — and her career was never the sameMeeting Gerard Cowan in a Dublin pub — the electricity, the Tuesday Club, the tripletsEight and a half years of a right-frontal-lobe astrocytoma: personality changes, financial devastation, seizures, a broken back, and caregiving aloneHow IBM's chief medical officer got them into Sloan Kettering by Wednesday morningGerard's final week — the deathbed promise that unlocked everythingThree novels published in two and a half years. A fourth coming. A life that is finally full.EPISODE SUMMARY:Michelle Morris has always connected with people by telling their stories — at the White House, in journalism, across corporate boardrooms, in crisis communications on three continents. But the decade she spent caregiving for a husband whose brain tumor was slowly dismantling his personality was one she lived mostly alone — too hard to explain, too strange to fit anyone's framework.When Gerard died, he gave her a permission slip she had been waiting for her whole career: write. She came home to Michigan, walked away from her last corporate job, and in two and a half years published three novels. Her characters face what she faced — the question of whether you get back up and what you build next. Her answer, in every book and in this conversation, is yes.ABOUT MICHELLE:Novelist, former Reagan White House staffer, corporate executive, and crisis communications professional. Author of Comes Around, A Quiet Town, Fresh Water, and a forthcoming fourth novel. Based in Michigan.CONNECT: http://michellesmorris.com | Amazon: Michelle S. Morris | Facebook: Michelle S. Morris, Author | Instagram: @michelle.s.morrisCOMMUNITY: WeCanDoItWomen.comIf this episode reminded you the story isn't over, come find your people at WeCanDoItWomen.com. A 5-star Apple Podcasts review helps more women find this show.