Author shows how to survive pandemic
‘A FINE MESS’ BORNE FROM WRITER’S OWN EXPERIENCES WITH SURVIVING TROUBLE
Kim Duke knows a little something about handling life’s ups and downs, which puts her in a good position to offer some advice about how to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
Four years before the pandemic tipped the world upside down, the Alberta-based Duke was travelling the world doing speaking engagements and attracting international attention for her writing. Then came a diagnosis from her doctor: she had breast cancer.
Not one to throw in the towel, Duke, then 50, tackled the challenge, which included undergoing a double mastectomy. She also began documenting her fight, employing her trademark grit and sense of humour. The result is “A Fine Mess,
An Odd Little Book on Surviving Life's Disasters,” a book which offers hope and help that is quite timely in view of the present circumstances.
“A Fine Mess of any size is so exhausting,” Duke says in a news release, “especially at the beginning when you’re feeling sideswiped.
There are all kinds of life disasters like bankruptcy, death, divorce, being arrested, fired, or left at the alter wearing a wedding dress that cost as much as your car. Life will throw a lot of disasters at us, but how we deal with them, is up to us.”
Duke has been featured on NBC News, CTV, CBC, in the Globe and Mail and on the internet sensation Mediumcom. She is known for her humorous style when talking about tough stuff, and the COVID-19 situation certainly qualifies.
“I don’t think people have grasped that this is the new normal,” Duke says of the pandemic. “The faster we can adapt to living with the effects of the pandemic instead of feeling depressed and questioning WHY it’s happening, the sooner we’ll be able to cope and redefine our lives.”
The keys to beating pandemic stress, says Duke, is to stop complaining and feeling helpless.
“Don’t operate in a bubble, open your eyes and face what is real. Having a plan controls your attitude. List your strengths and weaknesses. Connect with people and network. Take small steps and create a plan for yourself because you’ll find it will dramatically reduce your stress.”
Duke offers three pointers on how to survive life’s disasters:
1. Assess What is Happening; 2. Realize You have Choices; and 3. Create an Action Plan and Learn to Adapt.
“A Fine Mess” is on bookshelves now and is drawing positive reviews.
Carol MacArthur of the NetGalley Reviewer writes: “Kim Duke brings snappy wit and humor to the situations, like cancer in her case, we may face in life in ‘A Fine Mess.’ She points out wittily that there is always some lesson to learn from any setback in life and that realizing this we ‘carve out’ our lives. Pragmatic and down to earth.”
Duke is donating a portion of every book sold to the Cross Cancer Institute where she was treated.
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