BOOK: Red Sarah, A Heartfelt Dedication, by Carol Ann Kauffman

 

Red Sarah holds a special place in my heart for a happy/sad convoluted reason. My publisher Books To Go Now sent out a request for short stories with a RED element to bring together into an anthology where we are writers could donate our profits to the American Cancer Fund, in particular the Children's Cancer Hospital.

  

The anthology was called Code: Redhead.  All author proceeds were donated to our special cause and the anthology was well-received. After the first year to year and a half, our author rites were returned. I decided to publish Red Sarah on its own. 

It's a great little story. It combines romance and sci-fi and magic. It's a feel good story. But it is the heartfelt dedication this story carries that makes it so special to me.

DEDICATION

Cancer has touched all of our lives. Each of us knows someone, or loves someone, who has been affected by this horrible disease. My father, my mother, and myself have all had bouts with skin cancer. Luckily, with vigilance and a very good doctor, each instance was caught in time and dealt with effectively.

 

Not so with my favorite aunt, Aunt Rita. My Aunt Rita was the sweetest, most lovable person in the world. She was a beautiful person with a smile that lit up the room. When she married my uncle, she brought such happiness and joy into our family. Active in church and school events, working full time, she still had time to make each one of us feel special. (But I was her favorite.) She was the grounded member of a very volatile Italian family who could always remain calm and focused while the rest of the family was at fever pitch.

 

My aunt was stricken with breast cancer. But treatments back then were not as effective as they are today. She had surgery, post-surgical treatments like chemo, and a lengthy recuperation. It was a long, hard road for her. But she survived it. We all thought she was safe.

Then we heard those suffocatingly terrible words: It spread.

 

Our lives were forever changed with the loss of this sunbeam we called our Aunt Rita. When she left us, she took joy and laughter, sunshine and happiness with her. Our world lost its color and flavor.

 

I dedicate this short story, Red Sarah, to you, my beautiful aunt, Rita Chairmonte Latiano. I love you and I miss you. Hugs, Carol Ann. 

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