Discussion

Melissa W. Hunter · Author · added over 5 years ago
Instant fan here!
Dave Barrett · Author · added about 6 years ago
Congratulations!  That’s such awesome news!

Dear Sweethearts, 

I hope that you all are doing well and that you’re staying warm, and that you’re having a lovely evening! I am writing to share some exciting news, a video that Health Magazine did based on "How to Get Run Over By a Truck" recently went up online! You can take a look here :) 

Amazingly, after it was posted by Health - People Magazine, Hello Giggles and Real Simple all also shared it, and just this week it reached over 1 million views! I wanted to share this with you, because none of this would have been possible without you and your support of me and this story! 

I have said this before, but I REALLY mean it this time, thank you x 1 MILLION! 

Heart,

Katie 


Dear Sweethearts, 

I hope that you all are doing well! I wanted to send you a very short, but really exciting update: this past week How to Get Run Over by a Truck was in the Top 20 best selling non-fiction books on Amazon last week! We made it to #17 - which is nothing short of incredible! Especially almost a year after the book was first published!!! 

Thank you for believing that this book would be successful, even when no one in the publishing world did. You have put this book into the hands (and ears!) of so many people!!! You are an amazing, generous and kind person. Words can’t express how grateful I am for your support then, and now! 

Heart,

Katie 

Dear Sweethearts,

I hope that you are doing well and that you’re having a wonderful Tuesday, and that your summer has been nothing short of glorious! I wanted to write you a quick note to tell you a few really exciting things about How to Get Run Over by a Truck! (I know, it’s the little book that just.wont.quit.)

Last week the team at Audible reached out to me to let me know that my the audiobook of How to Get Run Over by a Truck is going to go on sale today for the gloriously low price of $2.95! So, if you have ever wanted to hear what my sweet, sweet voice sounds like - this is your chance! This is a great gift to get for someone who is about to go on a long road trip, or someone who is ill and reading isn’t a tangible possibility because the pain from their illness is too distracting (I was in that camp, and I know I would have loved an audiobook!) or for the older people in your life (who don’t mind a couple of well placed curse words…) If you do get one, please let me know! I would LOVE to hear what you thought about it!

In some other amazing news, How to Get Run Over by a Truck was featured in 3 different news magazines this past week!  Including, Shape Magazine, Reader’s Digest, and (most surprisingly!!) The Daily Mail in the UK! To see that almost a year after the book was published that there is still a such a huge interest in the story is SO incredibly moving!  

I hope that when you see these articles you are reminded of what a huge gift that you gave to me and to these reader by being an early supporter of this work! The messages from perfect strangers about how much they needed this story of hope, amazingly, continue to roll in, and they have you to thank for that!

I am so grateful to you for believing in this story, for believing in me and for your support in bringing this story to thousands of people around the world!! You are amazing 

Heart,

Katie

Wrogers · Reader · added about 7 years ago
Katie’s insight into her accident and the challenges of her recovery reveals many of the fears and anxieties that all of us face. Her style in presenting them with her most inner thoughts makes her book a terrific read and valuable in our everyday lives.
Thanks Katie for writing your book.

Dear Sweethearts,

Happy Wednesday! 365 short days ago, I stared at my Inkshares project page. It was full of the first chapter of the book I had written , why I wanted for this book to become a reality support, and an ask. I asked you all, many of you perfect strangers, to take the worst thing that had ever happened to me, and to help me make it into something beautiful, into something helpful.  I exhaled deeply, I closed my eyes and then clicked submit.

Now, here we are 1 year later. And because of your support, kindness, and willingness to share this story we have sold over 3,400 copies of "How to Get Run Over by a Truck"!!! That has happened in the 3 short months since it has been published! It is being sold online, and in bookstores across the country!!  Not only helped me to break Inkshares sale records, but to help others laugh in the face of tragedy, to feel less alone - you have made my dream come true! 

Isn’t it amazing that you did that! You, beautiful, stunning, generous human being! I hope that you feel proud of creating a miracle - because I am VERY proud of you! 

In the last year, your support has changed my life dramatically.  For the first time I felt like I was actually a good writer, that my story had worth, and that it was a sotry that others might be interested in it. I had the confidence to use my experience and my voice to help others - which is the greatest gift I have ever been given.

I have been invited to speak at colleges, medical schools, financial firms, hospitals, elementary schools, high schools bookstores and bars!  I have been overwhelmed by the response that I have gotten from strangers after these talks. I have been approached by men and women weeping for their own traumas, strangers grabbing my hands telling me that my little story has given them hope, doctors with 20 years of medical experience letting me know that I have changed the way that they see their patients. It has given me more clarity around what I would like to do with my life, a purpose,  and for that I am forever grateful. 

Your support of this effort has been so meaningful to me, and to all of the people who have read this book. I wish that I could send you all of the emails, tweets, posts and whispered thank you’s that I have heard over the last three months (but that would be a lot, and you guys are busy people!) So, instead, I just wanted to reiterate to you that your love and support has had a serious impact on my life, and on the lives of others! 

I have been blown away by the fact that more people need this story than I had ever imagined. I spoke at New York University Hospital’s Grand Rounds a few weeks ago, and I was so moved by their feedback, and how grateful they were for a patients take on how small kindnesses can change their interactions with their patients. I am going to St. Barnubus Hospital in a few weeks to speak to all of the doctors, nurses and EMT’s in their trauma center, to give them insight into their patients experience, so that they can empathize more deeply with the people who come into their care. I have LOVED giving these talks.  Incredibly, the connections to these hospitals have been made by all of you! You saw worth in this book, and shared it with the medical professionals in your life! I cannot tell you how meaningful that has been to me, and I hope that you will keep sharing! 

I have another book event coming up at one of my favorite bookstores, Northshire Bookstore in Manchester VT! It is going to be on January 20, at 7:00. If you are in the area I would love to see you there and give you a BIG hug! If you’re able to join us, please RSVP here! Bonus: my amazing parents, Art and Margo will be there, and they are even better in person than they are on paper :) 

Also, you all have been SO amazing about leaving Amazon reviews! We are at 77 reviews as of this morning, and apparently, if the book get to 100 reviews it shifts the way that Amazon markets the book online! We are only 23 reviews away from that goal! So, if you have 5 minutes and haven’t reviewed it yet, I would be so grateful for your feedback

Finally, I wanted to offer up something special to you all - recently, some friends who have chosen How to Get Run Over by a Truck as their book club pick, have invited me to join a portion of their book club meeting to answer questions, or to chat about the book, or to just allow me to step into a small beautiful sliver of their worlds as they talk about their own challenges and trauma’s. If that is something that you would be interested in having me Skype, or FaceTime into - please feel free to contact me via Inkshares or the Facebook page for How to Get Run Over by a Truck

I sincerely cannot thank you enough for your love, kindness, and support of this book over this last year. I am unsure of what I did to deserve so much love, but I promise that I will keep doing it.  Thank you for everything that you have done for me in the last 365 days, it has meant more to me than you know! 

Sending you love, hope and gratitude on this rainy Brooklyn morning! 

Heart,

Katie 

 

 

Dear Sweethearts,

 I hope that you are doing well and that you are having a lovely Tuesday! I wanted to reach out to you to give you a few updates and also to ask you for one small favor. So I want to share the coolest update first - we have sold over 3,000 copies of this book!! Can you believe it?!  I know that I couldn’t! I sat staring at my computer blinking long and hard to make sure I was seeing the numbers correctly! You all made this possible, so thank you so much! 

Recently “How to Get Run Over by a Truck" was reviewed by Her Agenda. The reviewer was kind enough to  say: ”The memoir is beautiful—it’s shocking, heartbreaking, funny, dark, and brutally honest. It’s a must read for everyone.”  Which was so incredible to hear! I also recently wrote an article for Amendo Magazine entitled “What Not to Say to Someone Who Has Been Through a Trauma", I was delighted that they asked me to write this piece, and I am so hopeful that it will be helpful for others when finding the right words can be really challenging. 

 In publishing news two awesome things have happened: the audiobook of “How to Get Run Over by a Truck” has just been published by Audible! I was so excited when I found out that they were going to let me be the voice actor for the audiobook, but I couldn’t have imagined what a meaningful experience it was going to be. Reading the entire memoir aloud made me relive the experience in a way that I didn’t when I just read in the book. While I was reading I was humbled by all of the love and support that had brought me to this beautiful and unlikely place. Here I was sitting in a recording studio, reading a book that I wrote, that only came into being because of all of your love and support! We had to stop the recording like 10 times because of my spontaneous weeping (I am the consummate professional!) You can listen to a snippet of it here, and if you are so inclined, you can buy it and hear me talk to you for over 8 hours ☺ The other awesome thing that has happened is that the short story that I wrote “The Gift of Hope” has been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and Miracles Edition, which is such an honor! 

 I also have a small favor to ask you all – so many of you have been kind enough to reach out and let me know your thoughts about the book, what you liked, what made you laugh, what made you cry – and it has been one of the best experiences of my life to know that something I wrote made you feel something! I was wondering if I could ask you to take that feedback one step further, and write a short review on Amazon. I currently have about 34 reviews, which is awesome! But I recently learned that if I was able to get over 100 reviews of “How to Get Run Over by a Truck”, it would increase the visibility of the book on the site dramatically, and bring more potential readers to the book! Which would be so amazing. It doesn’t have to be a super long review, just a few sentences would be so helpful! And a huge thank you to those of you who have already written reviews – you are wonderful!  

Also, if you are in the New York City area and are free on Monday night, I am going to be doing a book event for "How to Get Run Over by a Truck" on Monday November 21 at the Cobra Club in Brooklyn! All of the information you’ll need is here. I would love to see you there for hugs, a reading, some storytelling and also Q & A where I would be happy to answer any questions you might have! I hope to see you there! 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and for being incredible people. I am so grateful for you! 

Heart, 

Katie   

Good Morning Sweethearts!

I hope that you all are doing well and that you’re having a lovely Friday! The last two weeks since the book has launched has been such a dream. I have been so touched that so many of you have texted or emailed me pictures of the books as they arrived at your homes, sent me photos of your children with the books, and also have given me your feedback on "How to Get Run Over by a Truck" It has been so wonderful to hear from you, and I am incredibly grateful to you for sharing your experience with me! 

A few really wonderful things have happened that I wanted to share with you! I have done a couple of interviews about the book, and about my experience that I wanted to share with you. 

In this interview I spoke about the day of the accident, and what it is like to be aware of the fact that you might lose your life in this Arrvls Podcast entitled "40 Blinks" 

I spoke with Brooklyn Paper Radio about being a cyclist in Brooklyn, about what happened to the Truck driver, and they also asked me some tough questions about Warren. It was awesome and overwhelming all at the same time!  

I also spoke with my best friend Leah Bonvissuto on this Storycorp interview, where we talked about how important it is to use your voice and to tell your story. It was an incredible interview with one of my favorite people in the world! 

There was also some buzz about the book recently, which was unexpected and amazing! Jaime King, the beautiful and talented actress sent out an Instagram picture of the books that she’s reading right now to her 1 million followers, and "How to Get Run Over by a Truck" was on the top of the pile! It was such a happy surprise!

Also, New York Magazine listed "How to Get Run Over by a Truck" as one of the 13 Books We’re Reading Right Now! Which is mind blowing, because #1 its an amazing magazine and #2 because New York Magazine is my favorite magazine of all time! I can’t even believe that this is all happening! 

I want to share with you all a really touching thing that has happened just yesterday - my insanely talented friend Arian Saleh, composed a score for the book for his musical project entitled The Libretto Project. It is so beautiful that I can’t help but I weep every time I hear it. On his site are all of the books that he has created scores for, and they are stunning! I am so honored to be a part of that list! 

So, that’s what’s been happening in my world sweethearts! Thank you for making all of this possible! I am so incredibly grateful for your love and support! 

Heart,

Katie 

Dear Sweethearts,

I got up yesterday morning at 5 am to workout. As I dressed in the gray morning light, it reminded me of the years that I would force myself to get up at 5 am and drag myself to my computer to bang out bits and pieces of my memoir for the 2 hours I had before commuting into work. It was the quietest that my Brooklyn neighborhood was all day. It felt like I was the only person awake in the world. It was lonely, but it felt right.

I struggled to put my feelings into words. I wanted to be honest with myself about who I was, how I felt and who I was trying to be. I did my best not to flinch about my ugly feelings, to stare deeply into my own mortality, fragility and also to dive in deeper past the negativity, to the beautiful hidden places where joy lived. 

 I spent my lunch hours tucked out of sight in unused cubicles in the back of the open trading desk where I worked - editing, crying, laughing. My evenings would bring me back to the same spot at the little desk in my bedroom, eating pretzels sipping tea and trying to get all of my memories out, writing with the fervor of a dying woman who didn’t want her life to get lost to time. 

I wrote to make the pain more comprehensible, I wrote for old Katie because her story deserved to be told, and I wrote for the the stranger living somewhere in the world who might need a story like this, when they are feeling particularly hopeless. I wanted to tell them that the impossible happens all the time, we just don’t talk about it. It’s ok to be scared, it’s ok to laugh, it’s ok to cry - I usually do those three things in tandem. Even though I was writing this at my little desk by myself in Williamsburg - I wanted for the stranger to know, that they aren’t alone.  I’ve been there too. 

I tried to make this book possible by myself, I sent it out to 75 agents across the country, I received their rejections, their emails and letters that told me that I wasn’t a good enough writer that the story wasn’t compelling enough, that no one would ever buy this book, I should hire a ghost writer. I took it to heart and I swallowed the rejection alone. 

Then, I found Inkshares, and suddenly other writers were telling me that this book was something they thought was worth reading. From there, I found all of you, and I heard you saying "We believe in you. We’ll make this happen - we can do it together." And just like that, I wasn’t alone any more.  How to Get Run Over by a Truck stopped being just my story - it became all of ours. 

I know that it is an imperfect piece of art, but it is a reflection of me and all of the pieces I tried to fit back together.  I love you for opening up your hearts to this story, to this book, and to me. There is no other way I could imagine bringing this book into the world today. Thank you for standing with me. To me, you are perfection. 

Thank you for making this book possible. Yesterday was one of the proudest days of my life. I saw the book I have worked so hard on for years in the hands of people that I love, I got to read from the book in front of over 100 people who packed themselves into the KGB Bar on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I cried and I laughed with people I knew, and with strangers. It was incredible.  Thank you for being a part of this amazing journey. I hope that you are enjoying your books! If you are, if you’d be willing to take a moment to leave a short review here on amazon.com’s website, I would be SO grateful! It will direct new people to the book, and hopefully get it into the hands of more people who need to hear this kind of a story! 

I will be forever grateful for your kindness and for your support - thank you for changing the course of my life

Heart,
Katie 

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