Video: A Family of Friends + Joyful Stephanie Risked All

1. In The worst situations, strength and compassion gleam brightest…

The first time I discovered the depth of this truth (these days I’m writing novels) was when I co-produced a video for the Leukemia Society of America (nowadays Leukemia and Lymphoma Society). They’d hired my business partner, David Hunt (who’s been a guest before), and me to produce a video that would convince therapists and people diagnosed with leukemia to participate in the agency’s support groups. We videotaped at Wellness Community South Bay Cities, which is now called Cancer Support Community of South Bay. The Los Angeles Times wrote of member Roger Kahl’s valiant life here.

For each project, David and I alternated who would produce and who would assist. Thank goodness for this one David conducted the interviews, wrote the script, edited the videotape, and narrated the final video. For my part, it took all I had not to sob as I videotaped. Reviewing it all these many years later, I still cry at the incredible bravery of the interviewees.

On David’s site, he details his experience with this project…

“By the 1990s health educators understood that video-assisted storytelling was an effective way to engage patients and get them involved in their own health care. But many of the nation’s top health organizations, including the Leukemia Society, used actors as stand-ins for actual patients in their health education videos. In 1992 I was part of a documentary team that convinced the organization to trust people with leukemia to share their own stories.”

Today’s guest blog post is by Joyful Stephanie. From her home on East Coast of Canada, she blogs about her search for inner-peace amid life’s adventures, creativity, joys, and challenges.

A Memoir Of Risking It All  by Joyful Stephanie

Why I Started Blogging

I created a blog as a memoir of the biggest risk I’ve ever taken. 

I married a man I hardly knew and moved to the Middle East with him.

Our story goes like this: 

October, 2014 – I received a message from a man sent via an online dating site.

Michael’s first contact with me was via an online dating site message that was, in jest, asking me to marry him.

Why?

My online dating profile included a condition I made very clear: I am not a booty call. I was looking for marriage.

His message caught my eye.

After an important initial online discussion of clarifying these realities:

• Michael was looking to meet a woman living in Nova Scotia as that is where his daughter and grandchildren live and where he eventually wants to settle down
• He was currently working overseas in the Middle East, in the State of Qatar
• He asked if I would ever want to live in a dome home
• I was looking to take things slow – I was tired of making impulsive relationship decisions
• I was very serious about marriage, I had had it with common-law relationships 

We seemed okay with each other’s terms. 

We decided to start a long-distance romance.

December, 2014 – He flew from Qatar to Nova Scotia for Christmas Break to spend time with his family and meet me in person for the first time.

March, 2015 – Michael flew me to Qatar for a week.

March, 2015 – Doha, Qatar – Michael and I having fun on a Dhow Boat Cruise 

April 25th, 2015 (my birthday) – Michael sent me flowers with a letter asking to marry him. I accepted his proposal. So much for my “taking things slow.” 

April 25th, 2015 – Halifax, Nova Scotia – Marriage Proposal from Michael

August 18th, 2015 (his birthday) – We married on a dock in Lower Prospect, Nova Scotia. A few days later my new husband returned to his job in Qatar.

August 18th, 2015 – Sandy Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada – Wedding Day

August 31st, 2015 – I said goodbye to my mom, family and friends and all that was my life in Nova Scotia to start a new life in a Muslim country with a man I barely knew, and married on impulse. 

August 31st, 2015 – Halifax Stanfield International Airport – Waving goodbye to my mother as I walked towards another chapter of my life

September 1st, 2015 – I landed in Qatar.

I will never forget our first night together as man and wife in the Middle East.

We sat in his cramped, made for a bachelor sized apartment, looking at each other.

Since October, 2014, Michael and I had spent maybe a total of 42 days together in person.

Therefore, I looked at him and said, “I’m scared, are you.”

His reply, “Yes.”

It’s been noted that perhaps most couples would not have survived our situation, as Michael and I had many struggles along the way.

One fundamental reason we made it was we recognized the potential in each another and valued this connection. 

August 18th, 2016 – Doha, Qatar – Celebrating our 1st Anniversary and Michael’s 57th Birthday at the Intercontinental Hotel Doha 

A Photo Album Of Adventures

During our 4 years together in the Middle East, we traveled to 26 countries.

Blogging became a way to preserve our travel stories, our memories with pictures; lending us a nice way to reflect back on our adventures when we’re older and starting to forget things.

A Journey 

What has blogging been like for me? 

• A journey of love
• A memoir of risk & romance
• A photo album of adventures
• A deep dive into my mental health with Living Successfully With Borderline Personality Disorder & Histrionic Personality Disorder
• A spiritual journey,  Usui Shiki Ryoho – A Wild Woman Walking the Spiritual Path
• A showcase for Michael’s Geodesic Dome Home project

And perhaps, an inspiration for you…

S, 🌻

Do you have friends who are like or better than family?