Monday, October 17, 2005
News
Soothing the pet-lover's soul
LISA FREEMAN of Owosso poses with her dog Snickers and the recently published ”Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers' Soul“ recently at her home. Freeman's story of Snickers is one of the tales published in the book. Argus-Press Photo Carol Matteucci
By CHRIS HECOX
Argus-Press Staff Writer
Lisa Freeman began writing 10 years ago.
After five years of unsuccessfully working to get her writing published, she changed her approach and began writing short stories.
Soon after, her work started appearing regularly in publications like Guidepost's Sweet 16.
”It was 2000,“ she said. ”That's the year when everything went boom.“
Today, the Owosso woman makes her living as a writer.
One of her short stories, ”A New Home,“ is included in the newly-released book ”Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul.“
In ”A New Home,“ Freeman tells the story of how a Fox Terrier named Snickers came to live with her family.
Freeman said while driving home from her daughter's basketball game several years ago, Snickers ran into traffic and ended up underneath her van.
”The little pooch ran right under the van - I almost hit him,“ she said.
Although the dog wasn't injured in the incident, he was in need of a home.
”It was the middle of winter,“ Freeman said. ”It was muddy and slushy. My daughter picked him up and put him in the van.“
After some convincing from her daughter, Freeman reluctantly brought the dog home.
”We had just moved into a brand new home and I didn't even want a dog,“ she said.
Snicker's owner called Freeman after seeing an advertisement she had placed in the newspaper.
When the owner arrived she did something unexpected, Freeman said.
”She had all the papers and said ‘I know you will take good care of him,'“ Freeman related. ”The lady gave the dog to us.“
Freeman said even though she didn't want a dog living in her new house, she is now glad Snickers is part of her family.
”We had a new house, but (Snickers) showed us that with him it could be a new home,“ she said.
Freeman said her story appearing in the latest installment of the ”Chicken Soup“ book series is quite an accomplishment, but what she's most proud of is the fact that her own book, ”Run For Your Life,“ will be released Oct. 27.
Freeman is self-publishing the book, which is based on her experiences as a teen-age runaway.
”I've changed all the characters' names except for mine,“ she said.
She said she hopes the book will show teenagers that running away from home is not the answer to their problems.
”A lot of horrible things happened to me out there,“ she said.
She credits her faith in God with helping her to turn her life around and she hopes her writing will influence others to do the same.
She believes her writing talent is a gift from God that will help make this happen.
”God did call me,“ she said. ”I know he called me to write. It's something he put in me.“
In addition to influencing other people to make positive changes in their lives, Freeman said her writing provides a way for her to cope with stress and the difficulties in her life.
Writing, she said, has helped her deal with her son Brian's illness. He has a severe heart problem and is in need of a heart transplant.
”There's just so many instances of how God has come through in my writing,“ she said.
Lisa Freeman began writing 10 years ago.
After five years of unsuccessfully working to get her writing published, she changed her approach and began writing short stories.
Soon after, her work started appearing regularly in publications like Guidepost's Sweet 16.
”It was 2000,“ she said. ”That's the year when everything went boom.“
Today, the Owosso woman makes her living as a writer.
One of her short stories, ”A New Home,“ is included in the newly-released book ”Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul.“
In ”A New Home,“ Freeman tells the story of how a Fox Terrier named Snickers came to live with her family.
Freeman said while driving home from her daughter's basketball game several years ago, Snickers ran into traffic and ended up underneath her van.
”The little pooch ran right under the van - I almost hit him,“ she said.
Although the dog wasn't injured in the incident, he was in need of a home.
”It was the middle of winter,“ Freeman said. ”It was muddy and slushy. My daughter picked him up and put him in the van.“
After some convincing from her daughter, Freeman reluctantly brought the dog home.
”We had just moved into a brand new home and I didn't even want a dog,“ she said.
Snicker's owner called Freeman after seeing an advertisement she had placed in the newspaper.
When the owner arrived she did something unexpected, Freeman said.
”She had all the papers and said ‘I know you will take good care of him,'“ Freeman related. ”The lady gave the dog to us.“
Freeman said even though she didn't want a dog living in her new house, she is now glad Snickers is part of her family.
”We had a new house, but (Snickers) showed us that with him it could be a new home,“ she said.
Freeman said her story appearing in the latest installment of the ”Chicken Soup“ book series is quite an accomplishment, but what she's most proud of is the fact that her own book, ”Run For Your Life,“ will be released Oct. 27.
Freeman is self-publishing the book, which is based on her experiences as a teen-age runaway.
”I've changed all the characters' names except for mine,“ she said.
She said she hopes the book will show teenagers that running away from home is not the answer to their problems.
”A lot of horrible things happened to me out there,“ she said.
She credits her faith in God with helping her to turn her life around and she hopes her writing will influence others to do the same.
She believes her writing talent is a gift from God that will help make this happen.
”God did call me,“ she said. ”I know he called me to write. It's something he put in me.“
In addition to influencing other people to make positive changes in their lives, Freeman said her writing provides a way for her to cope with stress and the difficulties in her life.
Writing, she said, has helped her deal with her son Brian's illness. He has a severe heart problem and is in need of a heart transplant.
”There's just so many instances of how God has come through in my writing,“ she said.