In late 2009, I received the CD from Cindy Haverstick (Jerry’s niece) with all the letters Dr. Jerry had written over his 27 years in the Congo. Cindy also included old black and white photos, and articles that had been published about Jerry. I printed out all the letters. There were over 1,500 pages of material. I separated them and bound them by year.
During 2010, I read the letters from beginning to end. Then, in 2011, I decided to read them again, and this time I made notes next to the sections that could become part of the book.
In August 2011, I spoke to Joyce Grubbs, Author from the Grassroots, www.joycegodwingrubbs2.wordpress.com, about my concerns of taking on the task of writing the book. After our call, I had a peace about writing it.
In early 2012, I began to type the manuscript. I struggled with how to write it – in my words, or in Jerry’s words. After much reflection, I decided that the book had to come directly from the letters, in the way that Jerry wrote about the events. Since I was not there, and I did not want to embellish or change any story.
In April 2012, I was disappointed with how slow the process seemed to be going. Joyce reassured me that “the book will happen, and it will be in God’s good timing, as well as yours.”
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