I learned the hard way that the only way to work through stress, frustration, and sorrow is to trust that God is guiding and giving us answers even when we don’t feel it, even when we can’t see it. The Apple of My Eye is a five-year compilation of posts I wrote from the day of my husband’s eye cancer diagnosis to the day of his passing at 46 years of age.
I experienced those same things
and asked those
same questions.
The Apple of My Eye
introducing...
My illuminating, heartfelt account will inspire you to:
• Live one day at a time.
• Live with no regrets.
• Have faith as small as a mustard seed.
"The Apple of My Eye is as joyful and inspiring as it is painful and heart-wrenching. It poses questions that don't have clear answers, except that there is always hope."
— GInny owens -
singer, songwriter, speaker
"There is always hope."
"Little did we know, it wasn't a deetached retina. It was eye cancer. I'm approaching this journey gently, with as few expectations as possible. I'll tell stories and make observations about the world of cancer and medicine, caregiving and loving, believing and trusting in God's goodness, even when life throws you major curveballs."
"Since we returned home...I'v'e been daydreaming a lot more than I would have ever imagined...Yet I've allowed my brain to go there, to places in the future, to spaces I've yet to see. I'm still experiencing some of that emptiness, that hollowness. But I'm beginning to wonder if that's part of what new normal wil look like. What's next isn't easy. There's not a clear paved path, but it is good. In fact, I'm believing it's very, very good."
A Peek Into the Book
The Apple of My Eye
Sleeping, Dreaming, and Daydreaming
CHAPTER ONE
cnapter eleven
"I wish I could explain how I feel. I wish I could wrap my mind around everything. I wish there was time to process this slower, to experience this more richly, in a timeline that matches the speed of my heart and soul. But life and death don't always follow the perfect pace of our heart and soul, so I'll catch up someday. I'll burst, I just know it. The time will be wrong, but it'll be oh so right. For now, I face each day bravely, as is."
I Got My Fairytale
CHAPTER FORTY FIVE
"On June 6th while I was on my hands and knees sealing the grout in our new house, I received a call from Mayo. The MRI revealed 8-10 hemorrhagic lesions on Seth's liver, each approximately 1 cm in diameter. They suspected it could be metastasis of the choroidal melanoma diagnosed...3 1/2 years ago. They needed a biopsy within one to two weeks, no later. I literally felt sick."
Our Next Adventure: Metastatic Uveal Melanoma
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
"The Apple of My Eye is an offering of keen insight, nuanced writing, and unforgettable story of walking out life with the one you love in the face of an incredibly rare medical diagnosis.
Julie Barnhill
Author, speaker
"Think Katie's work is just for women? Think again. I'm a man (obviously), and my business tripled, too!"
Joshua
Made six figures:
"Instead of living in sorrow and letting her pain be wasted, Amy chose God in her darkest hour and is now sharing her story to bring glory to Him."
Bev DeSalvo
author, fellow widow
"The Apple of My Eye will open your eyes to the struggle behind the scenes, and the ever-present hope you will find while walking a loved one through cancer."
Tara Dickson
podcaster, fellow widow
"Think Katie's work is just for women? Think again. I'm a man (obviously), and my business tripled, too!"
Joshua
Made six figures:
"Amy's authenticity allows us to not just read her words, but to feel her journey in our hearts."
Maddie Ritter
LICSW
"Think Katie's work is just for women? Think again. I'm a man (obviously), and my business tripled, too!"
Joshua
Made six figures:
"Amy has given us an up-close look at an impossible journey."
Kris Camealy
author, artist, retreat host
"Think Katie's work is just for women? Think again. I'm a man (obviously), and my business tripled, too!"
Joshua
Made six figures:
"Whatever it is,
do it now.
We are not promised one more day.
Today is the day
to live."
The APPLE OF MY EYE
A Bit About Me
I am a podcaster, writer, photographer, and widowed mom of three who lives in Nashville. Just three weeks before my husband's rare eye cancer diagnosis, I left my 15-year career as a speech-language pathologist to pursue my dreams of becoming an author and professional photographer. Three and a half years after his initial diagnosis, we found out that his cancer had metastasized. Two years later, following a brave battle with metastatic uveal melanoma, my husband passed away.
I turned to writing to process my thoughts and feelings, to share medical updates with loved ones, and to birth something beautiful out of the tragedy that had befallen our family. The Apple of My Eye is our cancer story from the day of diagnosis to the day of passing and much of what was in between. It isn't perfect. It isn't comprehensive by any means. But it's real and it's true.
a single way through whatever you are facing. blessed be my story,your story, our story.
