Jo Ann Brechtel

And I realized I had to go to California to look through his remaining personal items in his apartment and close it out.

At that time, I found...

a whole notebook and collection of his artwork, and I found some of the words.

He talked with me daily, and I knew he wanted to do stories that would help others.

And he always believed that some people have a light within them,

And he felt like a lot of his friends and himself were chosen by the light.

And I even found a handout that he did describing the characteristics of the light that shines within us.

And I found many other meaningful words and thoughts.

He believed that...

We were the eyes of Christ and that he followed us if you had the light and saw what was happening on the earth.

He had many words.

So in the midst of feeling like this, so much pain, you had to do something.

I said, I cannot just throw this away.

So I felt I had to do this.

I had to get his artwork and his personal words and anything I found that was of importance, the handouts that he would have there.

I took them and I decided at that time that I would try to compile this in a book.

I'd never had written a book before.

So needless to say, I was very nervous.

And scared because I thought, wow, I was a social worker by my trade.

I did a lot of interventions, but nothing like that.