Book

While Jami loves to speak in front of a crowd to share her story, she knows that not everyone will have the opportunity to sit in front of her.  Also, it would be impossible to share the intricate details of every bit of experience and wisdom she has to offer in a single speaking engagement or even a week of workshops.  It is for those reasons that Jami is excited to share that she is writing a book to tell the story of her journey through breast cancer.

Jami was working on a book focusing on encouraging people, especially women, to discover their God-given talents and how to take those talents and use them in business and ministry.  However, while she was actively writing that book, her life took a huge change with a breast cancer diagnosis.  While she took a break from writing for a bit, she has jumped back behind the keyboard and is outlining her journey through the biggest battle of her life.

In this book, you will join Jami on somewhat of a diary or journal experience.  You will join her from the first feel  of the lump in her breast and journey all the way to her double mastectomy.  In this journey, you will laugh and cry; perhaps at the same time.  The journey includes the frustration and even the joy found in a cancer journey.

A few topics that she will cover in the book include:

  • The frustration of the American medical system.  There are endless hoops to jump through and a rigorous path that you must follow in order to receive quality treatment in a timely manner.
  • The cost of the American medical system.  You will hear how Jami did not have traditional insurance at the onset of her diagnosis and how that became a huge burden in getting the care she desperately needed.
  • The turmoil of knowing that immediate treatment is needed but dealing with other medical issues that stand in the way.  Jami will describe how allergic reactions hindered her ability to start chemotherapy immediately.
  • The nitty gritty that is chemotherapy treatment.  While everyone’s journey through the roller coaster of chemotherapy is different, Jami will share her day to day life while receiving the infusions to save her life.
  • The annoyance of a medical system full of protocols.  Jami did exactly what is advised against; she fired her doctor mid-way through treatment.  You will learn why she did this and how she navigated finding a new doctor to take her case.
  • Societal reactions.  Would you believe that upon Jami’s diagnosis, some people completely stepped out of her life?  It’s true.  But the beauty of the situation is just the opposite happened as well, and people who had just been acquaintances or surface friends really stepped up to fill the void and provide needed support.
  • The joys of the journey.  While chemotherapy and fighting cancer just plain sucks, Jami learned to find JOY in the journey.  You will hear about the things that made her smile, if only for a moment.
  • The immense peace that came from her faith.  Jami has been a Christian for most of her life.  But through her cancer diagnosis and treatment, that relationship with Jesus Christ has grown stronger than ever before.
  • What does it look like to be cancer free?  The journey doesn’t end when that label appears.  Jami will walk you through what life after cancer is showing her.

While this sounds like a lot to share, it barely skims the surface of a true cancer journey.  It is for this reason, Jami knows that this first book will not be the last.  She is essentially still in the middle of her journey because she still has several reconstruction surgeries planned out.  She also knows that her understanding of survivorship is just in the beginning stages.  Survivorship, she hears, is often even more difficult than the journey through treatment.  

But Jami also knows, and she wants you to know, that she is more than a cancer diagnosis.  Jami has so much knowledge and inspiration to share.  She could probably write a small section of a library in the things she has learned in life.

Jami began her adult career as a teacher all the way back in 2003.  In her short 6 year career in early childhood education, she worked in various teaching situations from private Catholic schools, to low income marginalized society schools, and even in a private tutoring and ACT prep situation.  Through those interactions, she learned a lot about society and how people of various walks of life view education.

While she was still in the classroom, Jami joined a MLM company that sells home fragrance products.  She never had an intention of building a business, but that is just what she did!  In just a few years’ time, she had replicated her teacher’s salary with her sales and team growth in that business.  She was able to step away from the classroom and focus her attention on her growing family while also continuing to grow that business.  It was during this time that she was often asked to share her business journey on stage and motivate and inspire others to do exactly what she had done.  This is when her love of public speaking and teaching from a stage really began to shine.

Outside of career and business, Jami and her husband Paul, have grown a beautiful family.  They are not a traditional family in any sense of the word though.  They have grown their family in several different ways, from biological childbirth, to fostering and adoption.  Their family’s story is a beautiful one, and it’s a story that she would love to share with an audience some day.

We are anxious for Jami to complete that first book and get it into the hands of her future readers.  We know it will encourage and inspire anyone who reads it.  And we really look forward to seeing what book she focuses on next.