A New Generation: Creating a Blended Family Through the Power of Love
by Lilly A. Gwilliam
About the Book
In her first memoir, Lilly A. Gwilliam shared how she shook off the expectations of her family and found her own way in the world, establishing herself as a successful woman in her own right. Then she met Gary Gwilliam and her life took off in a new direction.
In this book, Lilly shares her heartfelt and inspiring journey as she learns to embrace an unexpected love that changes the way she sees the world. The story then follows the couple as they work to bring five children from three different marriages together into one loving, and successful family. It’s a journey that proves it’s never too late to meet the person who will change your life, that families come in all shapes and sizes, and that happiness can be found at any age.
“Lilly and Gary’s story is a positively glowing example of what can happen when one takes a chance on love in midlife.” ~ Elizabeth C. Saviano
“All women can identify with the conflicting emotions expressed on these pages…A New Generation is a keeper-definitely one you want on your bookshelf.” ~ Jay W. Macintosh
Generations of Motherhood: A Changing Story
by Lilly A. Gwilliam
About the Book
This raw and real memoir features a deeply authentic woman who moved through extraordinary challenges to become the woman she always believed she could be and lead a successful and joyful life. Lilly A. Gwilliam courageously bares it all to show you how to move past your family traumas and learn to truly believe in yourself.
If you have a dream or desire that you are struggling to achieve, you will be inspired to face your fears and move past the obstacles in your path. If you have a challenging mother-daughter relationship, you’ll find out how to break the cycle of dysfunction. If you feel trapped in a relationship you are not happy in, you will discover freedom and a way out. And, if you have ever questioned your value and worth, you will learn how to find power and strength through forgiveness.
About the Author
Lilly A. Gwilliam has held a variety of positions over the course of her life. She has been a medical legal consultant and served as the dean of allied health and the accreditation officer at Antelope Valley College. She was the nursing coordinator and a nursing faculty member of the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute in California and also worked as a practitioner teacher at Rush University in Chicago. She also held a position as a psychiatric nurse on a surgical unit where she helped patients, families, nurses, and students deal with death and dying.
Lilly was inducted into the nursing honor society, Sigma Theta Tau. She was nominated as one of the “Outstanding Young Women 1979” and is a member of “Who’s Who in American Nursing.” Lilly has published several articles on the topics of nursing and law and has presented many seminars, including “The Elimination of Gender Bias in the Legal Profession.” She presented a paper on rape to the Fiji Law Society and helped change the laws on rape for women in Fiji. She was also inducted into the 2014 Massapequa High School Hall of Fame in recognition of her commitment to excellence as she honors her responsibility to her family and her community.
Lilly currently lives in Alamo, California, with her husband Gary Gwilliam. They have five children and eight grandchildren between them, and they enjoy spending time with their families.
Published Author/Medical Legal Consultant
email: lilly@lillygwilliam.com
Interview with Lilly Gwilliam
Please share a bit about your journey to become a published author?
In high school I loved Robert Frost. I loved reading his poems and decided at this time that someday when I was older, I was going to write a book. In the interim I had published several professional articles on the subject of nursing and law. As I became a grandmother in my early sixties, I became aware that I needed to write that book.
The other motivating factor for me was wanting to leave a legacy for my grandchildren. I grew up with a very strong love and relationship with my paternal grandparents who had immigrated to the United States from Poland in 1905. As I grew older I had so many questions I wanted to ask them about their life and who they were as individuals. My desire was to leave them a legacy as to who I was as a young girl and become the grandmother that they came to know.
I decided to attend the San Francisco Writers Conference about 2012 to see what the writing world entailed.
At a cocktail party I met Julie, and we had a delightful conversation that continued with my interest in her seminar, about influence publishing that she was presenting at the following day.
I had no idea at this time what I wanted to write about, but I was intrigued by Julie and her positive attitude about writing and getting your book published. I took her card and followed her on Facebook for several years. After the conference I signed up with a writing coach Linda Joy Meyers, who was President of the Memoir Writers Association. The idea about writing a book was pervasive in my everyday thoughts. I found the writing classes and seminars gave me a direction that had alluded me on my own. I loved learning, and the knowledge and support I gained through these classes resulted in my first draft of my memoir in 2017. I contacted Julie on Facebook after I saw she was offering a writing retreat in Puerto Vallarta.
I jumped on this offer and came away with a contract to have my memoir published.
Julie and her team were wonderful to work with and I felt so supported throughout the whole process. My first memoir was published in June 2019.
My second memoir followed another writing retreat I attended with Julie in beautiful France in the fall of 2019. It was a gift for myself and also an inspiration to have a direction of where I was going with my book after doing the “mapping exercise” with Julie.
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How does the writing process work for you? Do you schedule a time every day, work madly when inspiration hits or?
At first, I started when the inspiration hit me. This process did not add any words to my paper, and I was floundering without any direction. After beginning the memoir writing classes I gained the confidence and direction needed to move forward in becoming an author. I am an active person and found what worked for me was to work out at Orange Theory five times a week in the morning and write in the afternoons after lunch for about four hours five times a week. An important lesson I learned from my writing coach and Julie was to just write and not worry about editing. I found myself bogged down when I thought I had to write perfectly each time I sat down. It was overwhelming and I could not think or be creative when I felt it needed to be perfect. Julie was especially supportive when my manuscript was almost complete and reminded me that this was why I had Danielle Anderson the editor, and Lee Robinson, the proofreader, to help me in the final draft before printing with Tara Eymundson. This was an invaluable lesson and relief for me. I had to let go, and trust in the process of publication.
What did you find most difficult about the writing and publishing process? What was the easiest?
My most difficult experience about writing my memoir was dealing with the emotions that came up in writing about my private and intimate thoughts and feelings and revealing them on the page to be read by the readers. It was hard to be so vulnerable on the page.
The easiest was recalling the fun and happy experiences to share with the reader and to have it become a legacy for our family. This process was enhanced by the stellar organization of Anita Voth, and the support and expertise of Julie and her dynamic team.
What title (or titles) have you released? Can you share a bit of what it is about?
My first memoir: Generations of Motherhood: A Changing Story. Is a book about my teenage angst with my mother and how I became the person I am today in spite of her. I share the obstacles I had to overcome growing up in the 1950’s where I was not encouraged to attend college, and how my mother daughter relationship impacted on the mother I became. It is a story of love and forgiveness.
The second memoir: The New Generation: Creating a Blended Family through the Power of Love,
Is the story of meeting my husband after being single for sixteen years and the changes we each had to make after we met six weeks after he separated from his wife after nineteen years of marriage. We have five children between us and three prior marriages that made blending our family to be quite challenging. This is a story of love and adventure of a couple who believed in their own independence, and shared many values, interests and professional activities that strengthened their love of each other and their family.
The third book is a chapter in the book Women of Worth- Emotional Intelligence: Mental Health Matters by Christine Awram. Chapter title: Self -Empowerment Through Forgiveness.
Do you have any new books in the planning or writing stage?
I do not have any new books in the writing stage, but I am registered to attend the San Francisco Writers Conference in February 2023. I plan on attending this conference with the idea of possibly looking into writing fiction for my next book.
What would you like readers to know about you?
I have my master’s degree in psychiatric nursing and my law degree. I love learning and being challenged. I have travelled the world with my husband, Gary, and we love to travel with our adult children and grandchildren, especially Maui. Hawaii.
I believe we should all follow our passion and learn to listen and believe in ourselves and trust our own intuition. I strongly believe in living our life to be the best person we can be both physically and spiritually. In the final end of my life, I do NOT want to say, “I wish I had done.”