Q & A with Atlanta Marie Carrera
Teresa's sister

Question:
How did your sister's book get started?

Atlanta Marie Carrera:
Initially, Teresa  was simply sending encouraging emails each day to her friends.  When she shared some of those with me, I realized just how special they were.  I immediately asked her to include me on the group email.  Soon, she was sharing the emails with other friends and her group was getting too large for her to handle.  I convinced her to let me post what she wrote on a blog so she could simply give others the web address.  This way, as her group grew, new readers could read her previous entries too.

Question:
When was the decision made to turn her emails into a book?

Atlanta Marie Carrera:
When Teresa first beat her cancer, she knew she wanted to write a book about how God got her through it.  She had  printed out all her emails and put them in a binder.  Life got busy for her, and she wasn't able to work on it.  Then, her cancer came back.  Her writings got more intense and she titled them as "Medical Updates."  When her cancer reached stage four, I knew she wasn't going to see the book realized.  So, I asked her to leave her writings and her art to me in her will.  I told her I would do my best to see it through.

Question:
How did you go about editing the book?

Atlanta Marie Carrera:
Well, Teresa left me specific instructions to delete all references to her friends' names.  Next, I also took out a few stories that were too personal.  Then, I tried to keep the focus not so much on all the medical issues she was facing, but more on her relationship with God.  The hardest thing for me, of course, was reliving the pain and the trauma she went through as well as the sadness of losing my sister.    But what got me through it was being able to hear the joy in her voice as she talked about her faith.

Question:
What is your favorite story from the book?

Atlanta Marie Carrera:
My favorite story is when she is talking about being at the movies and what if God came down to Earth right then - what would that interaction be like?  I literally laughed out loud.  It was so Teresa!

Question:
What did Teresa want to do with the proceeds from the book sales?

Atlanta Marie Carrera:
Teresa’s wanted a certain percent of profits to be donated to the Special Olympics of North Carolina.  Then, she wanted all additional proceeds from this book and from her art to be given to her son.