Reviews are great, they are sad, they are exhilarating, and even frustrating. I have yet to receive a truly bad review for my debut biography, For Once in My Life: The Authorized Biography of Arlinda Willis. Maybe when that happens, I shall change my tune. But for now, I embrace the feedback, and learn from the comments.

Writing is basically a solo venture. Sometimes authors collaborate on a book, but even then, a lot of the actually writing is done alone.

When I was writing Arlinda's biography (autobiography at the time), I would hand-write her anecdotes in notebooks and sheets of paper I would find when the notebook ran out of paper. Arlinda and I were each other's audience, as the stories spilled out, first in general sweeps, and then in more detail, as her memory reconnected long-forgotten synapses. She would give me some corrections, or say, "That was nice," or "I like that."

Once she passed away, my audience was gone. I was on my own to shape her notes into an arc of a narrative. I interviewed family members, friends, and colleagues. Verified her appointments through her calendar. Still, it was solitary work. If I stopped the project, no one would be the wiser.

I could stop. I did stop. When I got the medical transcripts, and saw what the doctors were writing in their notes conflicted with the prognosis they were telling us to our face, I got so mad and exasperated that I shelved the transcript. Looking back, this was a key symptom of medical racism. How could we properly prepare for a quick descent into death when they were prescribing a year-long regimen of pamidronate infusion?

But Arlinda wanted her story told to the world, and I promised I would deliver it. I was still convinced the story was about Arlinda, not the doctors. "Medical racism" was not even in my vocabulary at the time.

As the manuscript took shape, I handed an alpha copy to my mother. Naturally, she had only nice things to say. There was a typo here. One there. The first beta reader was my friend and former colleague, Linda Blanch. She let me know about the muddling middle. There was a lot of medical visits, long names of prescriptions, and a textbook type of analysis about what was going on in Arlinda's body, and how they were discovering the tumor and treating it. Further up the chain, I took it to writing coaches, people who knew neither me nor Arlinda, to see if the story had interest to strangers. They guided me into shaping the story, being more intentional with the story arc, and elevating the level of writing to be cleaner, more concise. Still, the response was very encouraging.

I sent the manuscript to NetGalley, a website that gives avid readers access to books before they are published to get initial feedback and an opportunity to make last-minute edits before release. Kind of like a test screening, but in book form. And professional reviews came in. First from Foreword Clarion Reviews. The reviewer read the book as a love story and was put off by all of the medical racism getting in the way. It was more of a criticism of my marketing of the book than the actual writing itself. A quick fix on the jacket description cured that misconception. BlueInk Review did not like my narrative choices of alternating chapters between the current timeline and Arlinda's past. Most biographies are strictly chronological, but my decision was based more on a narrative telling of her story. And finally Kirkus Reviews returned their review. I had heard that they could be particularly tough, and neither libraries nor bookstores would touch a book with a tepid review from them. I opened the link and read an absolutely glowing review of the book. They got it. They understood the civil rights stance and my literary choices.

After the book was published, I have received a few more reviews, all of which are positive. I know in reality that there are going to be negative reviews. That is okay. This book is targeted to a certain type of person who is willing to work hard at a difficult subject matter in order to come away with thoughts that reinforce and challenge their beliefs held before reading the book.

Reader reviews provide me the feedback that I have needed to finish this 31-year journey. If you have found that Arlinda's story has caused you to think, please return to the place where you purchased the book and write a review. Also, let your family and friends who would appreciate this kind of story know that it is out there. Maybe even lend them your copy. Thank you for your ongoing support.