Kristin Abello
Houston, TX
Activist, Philanthropist, and Author of Sunrise: Life After Traumatic Brain Injury: a Healing Journey in Surviving TBI, an Empowering True Story
BOOK COVER
BOOK DETAILS
Pub Date: November 30, 2021
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Archway Publishing by Simon & Schuster
Page Count: 212
Format, ISBN, Price: Paperback $15.99 978-1665712088; hardcover $6.99 978-1665712095; Kindle $4.99 B09MYF5133; Audible audiobook $9.99 B0B2GMKQKY
ABOUT THE BOOK
MARCH IS TBI AWARENESS MONTH
In 2002, while on a training run in Houston, Texas, with her husband, Raul, in preparation for the Marine Corps Marathon, Kristin Abello was struck by a car. As a result, she sustained a traumatic brain injury and other physical traumas. The initial consensus was that she wasn’t going to survive, but miraculously, she did and in Sunrise, she tells her story of faith, love, hope and healing from TBI. While a love story, it is also the true story of her fight for survival. She and Raul were a young couple in love when the catastrophic car accident nearly pulled them apart. Abello tells how the support and prayers of her husband, family, and friends formed the basis of her miraculous recovery.
"A potent, hopeful chronicle about resilience, recovery, and faith." - Kirkus Reviews
A portion of the proceeds of this book will be donated to (TIRR) The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research and TIRR Memorial Hermann.
As a companion to the book, Abello has also released Sunrise TBI Journal: Life After Traumatic Brain Injury Daily Diary (Nov. 1, 2022; ISBN 978-1956642360), where TBI survivors can process their thoughts and log their progress. By taking the time to set the tone for the day and reflect at the end of the evening of each day, brain injury survivors begin to establish repetition through the routine of journaling.
TALKING POINTS
- How Kristin managed motherhood and a marriage while in rehabilitation for a TBI
- How to offer forgiveness for the people and events that caused physical and mental trauma
- Tips for finding the balance of listening to medical professionals while also pursuing one’s own fulfillment (referencing her decision to pursue a high risk pregnancy)
- 5 Things she wished she knew at the beginning of her healing journey
- 5 Tips to manage physically, mentally and emotionally with a TBI
TIMELY TIE-INS
March
- TBI Awareness Month*****
- Music Therapy Month
- National Hospitalist Day - March 2
- National Working Moms Day - March 12
- National Write Your Story Day - March 14
April
- National Physical Therapy & Stress Awareness Month
- Husband Appreciation Day - April 15
- Kristin and Raul Abello Day - April 23
- Tell a Story Day - April 27
- Independent Bookstore Day - April 29
BOOK DETAILS
Pub Date: May 17, 2022
Genre: Memoir / Christian Inspirational
Publisher: She Writes Press
Page Count: 304
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1647429003
Price: $15.99
ABOUT THE BOOK
In the age of social media, what does it mean to connect through a hand-written letter?
True Story: When Amy Daughters reconnected with her former friend from camp decades ago, Dana, via Facebook, she had no idea how it would change her life. Through social media, Amy learned Dana’s son Parker was at St. Jude battling cancer–devastating news, but what else do you do besides comment an “I’m so sorry,” nowadays?
But more than a comment happened, Amy woke up in the middle of the night and felt called in a way she couldn’t fully explain to write handwritten letters to Dana–someone who through time and distance, had become nothing more than several hundred other faces on her Facebook account.
When Parker died, Amy, not knowing what else to do, continued to write Dana. Eventually, Dana wrote back, and the two became pen pals, sharing things through the mail that they had never shared before. The richness of the experience left Amy wondering something: If my life could be so changed by someone I considered “just a Facebook friend,” what would happen if I wrote all my Facebook friends a letter?
A staggering 580 handwritten letters later Amy’s life would never be the same. As it turned out, there were actual individuals living very real lives behind each social media profile, and she was beautifully connected to each of those extraordinary, very real people.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A native Houstonian and a graduate of The Texas Tech University, Amy W. Daughters has been a freelance writer for more than a decade — mostly covering college football and sometimes talking about her feelings. Her debut novel, You Cannot Mess This Up: A True Story That Never Happened (She Writes Press, 2019), was selected as the Silver Winner for Humor in the 2019 Foreword INDIES and the Overall Winner for Humor/Comedy in the 2020 Next Generation Indie Awards. An amateur historian, hack golfer, charlatan fashion model, and regular on the ribbon dancing circuit, Amy — a proud former resident of Blackwell, England, and Dayton, Ohio currently lives in Tomball, Texas, a suburb of Houston. She is married to a foxy computer person, Willie, and is the lucky mother of two amazing sons, Will and Matthew.
TALKING POINTS
- Lost Art of Letter Writing – The deliberateness of a letter, honest, believable and genuine, more than Social Media could ever be. Bringing back the beautiful connection of a hand-written letter.
- How can we teach our younger generation to value a pen & stationery?
- The stages of grief and how to remain a constant and connected friend experiencing the grieving process.
- The power of prayer and finding purpose.
- The evolution of friendships and connections due to social media.
- Work from home and the disconnect it creates–how letter writing can bring back more meaningful relationships.
- Women in Sports – Amy is a decades long sportswriter–a position with its own trials and tribulations as a woman in a male-dominated field.
TIMELY TIE-INS
December
- Read a New Book Month
- National Letter Writing Day – December 7
- National Christmas Card Day – December 9
January
- Self-Love Month
- Universal Letter Writing Week – Jan 8-14
- Hunt for Happiness Week – Jan 15-21
February
- International Boost Self Esteem Month – February
April
- Month of Hope; Day of Hope – April 5
- World Health Day – April 7
- Tell a Story – April 27
- Trauma Awareness Month – May
PRAISE FOR DEAR DANA
“Dear Dana is an inspirational memoir about caring for friends near and far by reviving a lost art.” — Foreword Reviews
“. . . a captivating study regarding writing letters to friends and rethinking how people successfully bond in the modern world. An intriguing and inspiring exploration of different forms of communication.”— Kirkus Reviews
“This is a book for anyone who wonders about the differences between a Facebook friend and a Real-Life friend and who yearns to see a person’s real life behind their Facebook image. It is also about the power of prayer and the abundance of kindness in our world. But ultimately, it’s about connection and how we are all connected when we come from love.” — Rivvy Neshama, author of Recipes for a Sacred Life: True Stories and a Few Miracles
“Captivating . . . I laughed and I cried as I followed the pleasures of real mail, and the lesson hit home: Whether written or spoken, our words matter. They have the power to illuminate someone’s darkest day.” — Laurie Buchanan, PhD, author of Note to Self: A Seven-Step Path to Gratitude and Growth and The Business of Being: Soul Purpose In and Out of the Workplace