The Janine Bolon Show with Lisa Strahs-Lorence - 99 Authors Project, Season 6, Episode 2

The 99 Authors Project – Season 6 – Episode 2 with Lisa Strahs-Lorenc24 min read

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc is a bereavement specialist. She has lived with death her whole life. She lost her biological mother when she was 2, her father when she was 30, her adopted mom when she was 46 and her husband when she was 55. From all of these experiences, she understands that life is precious and makes each day count. She celebrates life, and keeps the memory of all of her loved ones with her in the form of stories, memories, an online memorial and through support books.

The first of her books was published on September 3, 2010 and the 2nd was published on September 3, 2020. Both were written as support books for people who are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and loved ones who died from this disease.  All monies go to the Lustgarten Foundation, the world’s largest non-profit organization that funds research for early detection and an eventual cure of this deadly disease.

Visit Lisa’s website here.

Transcript of the Show

Bryan Hyde
Welcome to the Janine Bolon show, where we share tips from around the globe. As we guide practical people with their finances using money tips, increase their incomes through side businesses, and maintain their sanity by staying in their creative zone.

Janine Bolon
Hello, this is Janine Bolon here and welcome to today’s show where we bring you quality content on saving your time, saving your money, saving your knowledge, while staying sane in this topsy turvy world of ours. Or is that whole staying sane part kind of already a lost cause; it is with me most days. But the Janine Bolon Show is a syndicated program of four podcast shows that were combined in October of 2021. Three Minute Money Tips, The Thriving Solopreneur, The Writers Hour Creative Conversations and The Practical Mystic Show programs have been running since 2017. We have produced over 300 episodes interviewed over 250 guests, and today we will be spotlighting one of our authors who is contributing to our 12th book, The 99 Authors Project.

Today we have with us Lisa Strahs-Lorenc. Lisa is a bereavement specialist; she has lived with death her whole life. I know some of you may see that as a downer, but it’s not. And let me explain why. She may have lost her biological mother when she was two, her father when she was 30, her adopted mom when she was 46, and her husband when she was 55. But what causes a person how they respond to all of this is they learned to live life as the precious commodity that it is, and they make every day count. And Lisa is a testament to that. She celebrates life, keeps the memory of all of her loved ones with her in the form of stories, memories, online memorials, and through supportive books, especially Pancreatic Cancer It’s a Family Affair. But that’s not the only book we’re talking to a multi book author today. Welcome to the show, Lisa.

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc
Thank you, Janine, it’s great to be here.

Janine Bolon
Thank you so much. It’s one of the things you and I definitely connected on when we were first getting to know each other’s we both lost our mothers very early on. We were both experiencing death pretty rapidly in our youth, and then getting shuffled, getting shuffled around through the world, through family, it just having your worldview constantly interrupted like that. So you and I were chatting about those experiences, and we both found out yeah, that’s what makes us perky, optimistic people. Why? Because I’m breathing. We’re happy about that. We don’t take it for granted.

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc
That’s right.

Janine Bolon
So you’re a multi book author. So you started the you know, the first one, now you’re writing for nonprofits. So kind of walk us through what got you started writing books? And then how did each project kind of come to you give it give us an outline, if you will?

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc
It absolutely was the fact that my husband died of pancreatic cancer. Number one, I didn’t know where pancreas was, I didn’t know what a pancreas did. I felt pretty medically incompetent and knowledgeable. And

Janine Bolon
What, you hurt your what? That’s kind of where you’re jumping now.

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc
What does that do? Yeah, all of a sudden, I became biology major, and did lots of research. And I found out after he died, that we don’t know anything. Most of us went through the process trying to figure this out, do the best we could try to save our spouses or our loved ones. And a book was what I felt would be the most important thing. So the first thing was let me write a book about this disease. And let me interview families. What did we go through, what, you know, what were the protocols? What were the things that we tried to do? And just help people feel, number one, I felt very alone. And I didn’t know where to turn. And so the 20 people that I found from this book, came out of a listserv. And so my first book was, as you said, Pancreatic Cancer, It’s a Family Affair, because it affects obviously, the whole family. So it took about a year and a half to do that book. I had four survivors in that book at that time. And that was September 3, 2010, when I published that book. Very proud of it and all the money and I repeat all the money went to fund pancreatic cancer research, and hopefully an eventual cure for the Lustgarten Foundation, which is our local foundation here supported by a company, where 100% of the money goes to research. So the company supports the staff, the company pays for the facilities, the company does everything because when you look up some of these non for profits, you’re shocked. Well, this is a really good not for profit, because 100% goes. So all my books, the two books, my second book was Families Move On. And so what I wanted to show was what happened to us 10 years later, I follow those families, we stayed in touch with each other. And I had 12 of those 20 families who wanted to speak about what happened after that. How their lives changed by the year, and how we all dealt with the loss of our loved ones. And I had one survivor, by the way, and I still have one survivor, which is probably amazing, but.

Janine Bolon
It’s totally incredible. I find it, forgive me for cutting in here, but it’s like what Lisa is talking to you guys about is what the ancient Greeks talked about when they would say you were a historian, this was the kind of research those people were doing. And so Lisa is really talking about how we went to first sources to get our information on healing. We didn’t trust anyone, but the people who were still alive. Isn’t that amazing? Anyway, keep going, Lisa. Sorry to interrupt you. But I just had a moment there where I had to geek out.

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc
I met him now. And of course, the learning curve was there. Because we’re trying to figure out like, what we can do and what works and what doesn’t work. And, you know, so I released the two books. And it’s funny because thinking about calling myself an author, I always thought that you had to be this like, brilliant, talented, amazing person. And like most people, if they really have something they really want to do, and they can organize themselves and put their words together, they could probably be an author. They just have to have the confidence to do it. And the belief that this is something that was important to them, which was obviously very important to me. So you know, these books, my ideas, I invested in it, my money, my effort, my time. And I and I did both with the express purpose of helping others and educating others in what I didn’t know at the time.

Janine Bolon
Well, like you said, we’re not all of us are biology majors. I am an analytical biochemist, and I had more biology than I care to even talk about. However, there are things that are always being new or discovered and, and even now I sit and admire those people who are learning the sciences, because it’s constantly growing. It’s one of the few fields that you don’t you’ll never get bored with that one. So curiosity question, have you always been a writer or was this just kind of one of those passions that hit you because you had a need?

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc
You know, it’s funny, when I think back English was my minor in college. And I always loved writing, always, back of compositions that my teachers gave me like in fifth grade, the one about inanimate objects, you have to pretend you were something, I was a glass. I went to different houses, and I, you know, I visited houses, and I went in the dishwasher. I mean, so I’m thinking about how creative I really always was, and how I love to write different things, poems and stories. That was just always, say I even wrote in my diary, in those days, we all had diaries. So I still have that. But I love that.

Janine Bolon
I remember I used to wear my diary key around my neck, you know, because they came with the little key and everything. It was just fun. It was just fun stuff that we did. So kind of what you’re telling me is you really didn’t have a marketing background before you started writing this book did do?

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc
Well, to tell you the truth. I fell into marketing; I never took a marketing course in my life. And I became marketing director of several not for profits; I do have a not-for-profit background. And I was sort of thrust into a few things where it was, well, can you do this? Sure. I’ll try it. Why not? And I didn’t realize it was marketing and branding and all, but it was. So I did that not only for me and some of the businesses that I had, but for other not for profits. And even for companies. I learned on the job.

Janine Bolon
Right. That’s kind of what we did. I like to tell people, you know, I do better at my job if I was given some training. I’m like, oh, you’re not familiar with the concept? Corporate says on the job training, like, you know, do the job, and you’re going to be training yourself. It’s one of those fun things I always thought was hysterical. So okay, so talk to us a little bit about, okay, so your thrusted through the nonprofit arena into all of this marketing and branding. Now, what surprised you about the book marketing process, and then, you know, the actual publishing of a book?

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc
It really was something I didn’t know anything about and it was easier than I thought. I decided I would write, I decided what I would do, I decided to seek out a publishing a self-publishing company that would honor my, you know, my outline of what I wanted. And I could make decisions about the book. It was mine. It wasn’t anybody else’s decisions. So it was it was very self-affirming, tell you the truth.

Janine Bolon
I remember when I would have publishers come up to me because I was like you, I published back in the dark ages when it was vanity publishing, right? So 2005, you’re called a vanity publisher. And then as my sales started to increase, I had publishers sniffing around saying, hey, you know, would you like be a part of this? And I was like you, I so loved the fact that I had total control over things. I was like, you could not have tried the right side of my books, and no way. And now we have all this hybrid publishing now, it’s a totally different field. And that’s what I love for authors coming into, it’s a totally different dynamic. So is there anything you know, speaking of the past, are there anything that you change if you were going to be publishing your book today? Anything you do differently?

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc
Yeah, you know, 2010 was very different 2020 I mean, I launched during the pandemic. So in 2010, I think I should have gone bigger. I did a few book releases. I did Borders I did through Adelphi University, which is here in the social work department, and I just didn’t realize that I could have really even done more. I could have gone even bigger. But oh, it’s a small little book, it’s a nice little thing. It’ll be helpful to some people. And now I see a bigger picture. And what it really is and what it represents.

Janine Bolon
Like, you know, maybe contacting the American Association of pancreatic cancer and saying, hey, I wrote a book. But you don’t think about those things, see, that’s why you need other people. So talk to us about what worked best for you in your book selling process? So you know, what helps you sell the most books?

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc
It’s walks and fundraisers, because it is featured on the Lustgarten site as a self-kind of fundraising thing. People call me sometimes and say to me, and say to me, you know, my, my friend’s husband died, and it might not even been pancreatic cancer, but the fact that they’re trying to move on with their life, is what they’re talking about. And people used as gifts from people. Which is really nice, a bereavement gift, to show that life does go on, not the same, nothing will ever be the same. But the fact that you can listen, our loved ones want us to be happy, there’s no question about that, and try now to find your new life and celebrate that life because that life is always with you and that person is always with you in your heart. But it is different, and you got to find your way. So walks, you know, walks are really big for me. Out of both organizations, the one out in California, and the one over here, you know, have read it and endorsed it and all. And I tried to you know, go from there. But again, my website and Amazon and whatever. But biggest is, again, the walks and the fundraisers because, you know, people are trying to, identify, they identify with it. And by the way, you know, the second one, again, could be any cancer, it doesn’t have to be cancer. So it’s the fact that now you have to live your life. And how do you move on? How do you move forward with that life?

Janine Bolon
Right. And that’s what I love is you’re the first author to ever talk about, oh, yeah, my sales are best at walks. And I’m like, whoa, what backup walks? And you know, I sell the most books at walks and he’s like, alright, five K’s and, you know, spend an afternoon and the donation per mile and all that kind of stuff. I’m like, well, of course that would work for you. I like, I started laughing when I started thinking about it. But okay, this is my favorite question because I have received so many different answers from this. I thought as a scientist, I will start to notice patterns. No, everybody has a different story on this. And so what process did you try that was an epic failure when it came to selling your books?

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc
In 2020, I was faced with the virtual book release. You couldn’t be in person anymore. And that and unfortunately, you know, I was I was set on the date, the date meant a lot to me. And it was 10 years later. And so unfortunately, I really had no choice. And that impersonal part, just didn’t match. I mean, I did a cool video and I tried to put it out there. I even had a representative that was a scientist from the Lustgarten explaining about what’s happening. I thought that would be great. But you know, it was so first of all, it was 2020, September 3, 2020. So people were in a very difficult time in their lives, trying to figure out like, how are they going to live? So this book was just not going to be a priority for them. It wasn’t, even though I thought, wow, this is great. I’ve arranged the most amazing book release. But no, that’s not what happened.

Janine Bolon
Oh, don’t worry. You’re not the only one who had these big ideas, and then watch them. So that’s one of the things I love about the book that we’re writing together here is because so many people’s stories are just like that. They’re like, oh, my gosh, I had this fabulous idea. It all worked. It came together. I got the pieces moving. Crickets, you hear? Cricket. I just wanted to say you’re not alone. There’s 98 other authors that have experienced this. We all have experienced this. So yeah, it’s one of those things. Just pick yourself up by your bootstraps and you keep going on to the next idea.

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc
That’s right, you try something else.

Janine Bolon
Just try something else. You’re creative. You’ll come up with something new and it’ll be epic, you know, it’ll help. But um, tell us a little story about yourself that gets the most laughs from your target audience.

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc
So the people who identify with hospitals and with the situation that we’re all in. It was the night before my husband died, and I fell. I actually fell over my dogs and fell into the cabinet. I had blood like everywhere, like this was like the last thing that anybody in that household needed. And of course, an ambulance came, I went to the hospital and the first thing I said to them, do whatever you need to do, but you got to get me out of here. I have to get out of here really fast. I made everybody crazy in that emergency room. Everybody crazy. They had to call a plastic surgeon, I 35 stitches, okay? I’m saying to them do what you have to do. I mean, like, do it quickly, I gotta leave. I mean, I have to go. So I made everybody so crazy that they let me leave, and I still have the IV in my arm. Like I left with this thing in my arm, I didn’t even notice it, I got home. And I was, you know, happy to be home with him and all. And I’m looking at my arm and my kid said, what’s in your arm? And I said, oh, it’s an IV. They forgot to take it out. So I had to run back to the hospital, they looked at me, I said, I think I drove all of you nuts. Because you didn’t even take out my IV. So, you know, I learned first of all, that even those people who are taking care of people, human beings, and they all felt for me, you know. And they looked at me, they’re laughing. Do you see what we forgot to do? So.

Janine Bolon
It happens to the best of us, and I think it’s a beautiful statement of people know where they have to be. And I just want to admire your courage. I want to acknowledge the courage and because in that moment, it had nothing to do with courage. It had everything to do with stating your mind, like, get me out of here. Do what you have to do. Fix the body. And let me out of here. This is not the time to be the nurturing caregiver. I need speed people.

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc
By the way, Janine, my husband died that night.

Janine Bolon
Yeah, yeah. You knew where you had to be.

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc
Yeah, I did. I did. So yeah, it’s amazing. The strength you have and what you can do, to get through so much in your life, it’s, it’s amazing. Nobody realizes what you can do with your life.

Janine Bolon
Right. And so that’s why you and I write books and give lectures and talk and talk and talk is just because we have had those experiences together, you and I have talked about that. So speaking of the people we care to serve, and thank you for helping my community of authors with all of this, you told me, hey, I’ve got five tips, I’ll be glad to help your authors with some of the things that they can learn about selling books.

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc
Absolutely, number one, you gotta believe in yourself. You have to absolutely believe that you have a story to tell, something important to do, and you’re going to do it. That’s number one. Number two, you take advice from others, but decide what’s right for you. Everybody’s got a story, everyone’s got advice, and you got to decide, now this is right for me, but oh, no way, am I doing that. I mean, like, no way. So that’s number two. Number three, you got to be true to yourself, you don’t try to do what you can’t do and what you’re not. You don’t try to be something that you’re not. Be structured in your approach, or it’s never gonna happen. Oh, I’m going to do this, I’m gonna do that. And then there’s no structure and it never happens. And I say to people, just pull yourself together, decide on your steps, this is something you want to do, what are the steps to do to take it? Because it’s overwhelming if you look at the whole picture, but if you really put it down, and you really, you have to be determined, obviously, I mean, something that’s important to you. And the next thing, don’t just do it for money. Okay, do it for the passion and the belief that you’re making an important contribution. I really believe and I’ve always believed that the money will follow. I imagine that’s true in your job. I mean, it’s true in everything in your life. And that’s absolutely true in books.

Janine Bolon
It is true, there are steps that you need to take, and I like to share with people look, do you have a website? Is there a way for people to get a hold of you and schedule a phone call? And is there a way for people to pay you without you being present? That’s usually all you really need, you know, to get the income flowing in for that. But thank you so much. And I love the fact that repeat number three for me again.

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc
So be true to yourself.

Janine Bolon
Be true to yourself. Right? I’d like to share an example, I had the Oprah Winfrey Show contact me after I wrote Money, It’s Not Just for Rich People. I was not a good fit for the show. And I started laughing as they were talking about what they wanted. And they said to me, and it was a joke from the production team, where they said, you know, you’re just not sexy enough. They meant it as a joke. And you have to remember this is back in 2012. And I said no, no, I am not because they were wanting a type of show that I wasn’t. Now I could have found a way to slide in, but that’s being true to yourself, even when you have an opportunity to be on a show like that. Stay true to yourself because you will win in the long run and I I’m proof of that. So I just wanted to back that one up on the stay true to yourself because there’s temptations, always. Yeah, so. All right, so we have finished with the five tips. So I would love to hear what was the one thing you most misunderstood about becoming an author? I’d love to hear that.

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc
A most amazing, gifted, brilliant, talented person that I could never be in my whole life. You know, oh, wow, an author? Yeah, that kind of thing. And that’s how sort of society does some of this stuff. And, you know, I learned that really anybody who has something to tell and some kind of way of producing it, and the belief in themselves and everything that I said, you know, that they can. But yeah, it’s interesting to stereotypes of what an author is, right? All those people who you read, I mean, again, I was an English minor. I mean, I was reading Shakespeare, I was doing the big books and everything else. And, you know, it’s interesting to think of it now.

Janine Bolon
When you see oh, my gosh, they were normal people paying bills and getting groceries. And yeah, it just yeah, it’s funny. It’s funny. When you start joining the writing groups, I always encourage people, are you a part of a writing group? Become part of a writing group that’ll keep you going when you struggle, that sort of thing. And to me, the most important question for you is, what’s the primary thing that was the biggest reward for you becoming an author?

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc
We all know it’s to help others. I absolutely wanted to be there for them, making them feel like they were not alone in what they were going through. And making them feel that there was a place that they could actually read and learn about others who are going through similar things. Being alone is so hard for people and going through the experience alone. So absolutely, if I, if I changed some lives, if I make it just a little easier, then that’s the world to me.

Janine Bolon
Right? I totally concur. And that’s it. Lisa has answered our questions. And if you want more information about what this amazing woman has in store for you, I highly recommend visit her website which is at Families Move On.com especially and refer your friends. Oh my gosh, people are suffering, and you know they are and when you feel helpless, a lot of times just handing them a website will be that saving grace. Lisa, thank you so much for being our spotlighted author today. Any last tips, any little golden nuggets you wish to leave us with?

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc
I want to remind everyone that those that we’ve lost are still in our hearts, in our lives, we celebrate them every day, we celebrate them by talking about them, and thinking about the things that they love to do. All those people who touched my life, I’m grateful for them, no matter how long they were in my life or short, and I’ll always be changed because of them. So thank you so much for this opportunity, Janine, I’m so happy with what you’re doing.

Janine Bolon
And thank you for helping my community with what you’re doing. And if you are an author, or you know of an author who would like us to spotlight them, please visit our website at Author Podcasting.com where you will find the 99 Author Project listed. Now, we talk to authors from all walks of life as we build out book number 12, which is Advice from Authors to Authors, which we published in 2023. And this is Janine Bolon signing off with you today and all of us here at the 8 Gates that produces the Janine Bolon Show. We wish you a wonderful week and encourage you to get your message, your story and your knowledge out into the world and make it a better place just like these authors are doing this year. We’ll see you again next week. And until then, keep sharing what you know with others, keep shining that light that is you and don’t forget to go out today and do something for yourself that’s just plain fun. We’ll see you next week.

 

Bryan Hyde
Thank you for listening to the Janine Bolon show. Be sure to subscribe to our show notes by going to www.theJanineBolonshow.com, where you’ll find additional resources as well as the opportunity to sign up to receive our program in your email each week. Be sure to visit our sponsor at www.the8gates.com.

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