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Writing Case Study: Getting Hip: Recovery from a Total
Hip Replacement by Sigrid Macdonald
Sigrid Macdonald has been a freelance writer for several decades.
She started out writing for political groups such as the Democratic
Party and the National Organization for Women in New Jersey. Macdonald
maintained her interest in women's issues and wrote a variety of
articles for Women's Freedom Network in Washington DC,
and the Carleton University Women's Center. She also developed an
interest in wrongful convictions and worked closely with Joyce Milgaard
to exonerate her son David.
This social activist's works have been
published by the American magazine, Justice Denied; the Canadian
newspaper, The Globe and Mail; and the Canadian organization,
the Association in Defense of the Wrongly Convicted. In addition,
Sigrid has written extensively about health issues like hypothyroidism,
hypoglycemia, invisible disabilities, panic attacks and menopause.
Challenge
In 2000, Sigrid Macdonald was one of 17,500 Canadians who required
a total hip replacement. Her hip had been badly damaged when she
was struck by a drunk driver many years ago. At first, Macdonald
devised a web log ("blog"), to describe her experience
with the surgery. She did so much research and obtained so much
information about the procedure that she wanted to share her tips
with others in a larger fashion. But Macdonald had never written
a book and the mere thought was overwhelming. She had no idea where
to begin.
Solution
Sigrid decided to hire Book Coach Press to help her with this daunting
task. Book Coach Press had been highly recommended by one of her
friends, and rightly so! In the span of one month, Serena Williamson
helped Macdonald to organize her thoughts, clarify a focus, and
find a beginning point for the story. Macdonald was uncertain about
how much personal information to reveal in her book. Serena helped
her to sort out what belonged in the patient's guide to hip surgery,
and what did not.
Serena encouraged Sigrid every step along the way, and taught her
how to get all of her thoughts down on paper in a first draft before
doing a major edit. That advice was invaluable because Sigrid's
inclination would have been to have written and rewritten the piece
as she went along. That tactic worked well with articles but would
have severely curtailed the flow of thought in a book.
Results
Sigrid Macdonald's first book, GETTING HIP: Recovery from a
Total Hip Replacement, was rated number 2,981 this week on
Amazon.ca. That is a phenomenal rating for a beginner. Sigrid's
surgical guide routinely ranks in the top three books on hip replacement
on both Amazon.com and Amazon.ca. Sometimes her book outsells that
of an orthopedic surgeon from Mount Sinai, New York!
Moreover, after completing GETTING HIP, Macdonald went
on to write a novel. D'Amour Road was released early in
May of 2005. Because of what she had learned with Book Coach Press,
Macdonald was able to initiate and complete the second project all
on her own.
It has been my life's dream to write a book but I
never had the courage or the confidence. When Serena Williamson
said to me, 'You can do it!', I slowly began to believe her. Since
then I've joined Toastmasters International and completed my first
10 speeches. Now I'm the author of two books and a Competent Toastmaster!
Who would ever have believed it?
Sigrid Macdonald
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