Voice for the Voiceless

Balking at the very thought, apparently, I need a website.  A manuscript, ready to be eyeballed, has nowhere to go. Publisher’s won’t look, unless you have an agent. Agents that work with noted publishers won’t look, unless you have a platform. The speaking engagements come naturally when you are impassioned about what you’re writing about. But the idea of developing a platform? Well, that’s just plain ‘too risky.’

My husband told me years before, “Great things are never achieved alone. The person that can take you past your own fears, is usually the same person that helps set your dreams in motion.”

I knew someone. Highly successful, this friend of my daughter’s named Jill Alberti, just might be able to steer me to that special person who can make me brave. A media/branding specialist for parishes and dioceses in multiple states, Jill knows tons of people that could do what I need. Surely she could find somebody special to entertain my little project.

Although she was swamped, she had time to talk. Various ideas in mind, she asked that I share some of my writings with her so she could get a concept of the fit required. So, I sent her a few chapters of my manuscript.

Weeks went by and not a word. For a writer that has shared her work, silence is the most painful agony of all. Some of her clientele have esteemed presence and if this did not make it past Jill’s scrutiny, I guessed this was my sign.

Then out of the blue, not in the form of a text or email, she replied with a call. “Janie, oh my gosh! I love this. It’s incredible. I know I said I would find someone for you, but I would like to talk about doing this myself. You’ve touched my heart.”

We met and Jill explained that because I would do all of the writing, the cost of the proposal would be far less than anticipated. If I could be patient with her commitment to her primary clients, we could agree to a deal. We did.

Jill rattled through questions as she analytically tried to peel the layers, finding the true representation of my personality. I guess it works that way. One by one, I answered systematically, sure of each thought. Colors, pictures, styles. Completely open with my likes and dislikes, my pinpoint accuracy and confidence made me think this was going to be easy.

Then she explained, “Okay Janie, what are you?” Surprised because I thought she knew, she quickly added. “I know you are an author and speaker. Lots of people are.  I need a third descriptive title to add to that.”

Though I didn’t respond, my wheels were turning.  Jill spoke up, “Okay, how about Alzheimer’s Advocate?”

I exclaimed, “No! … no, I don’t want to pigeon hole my life journey into the single box of Alzheimer’s. My life is bigger than that. Alzheimer’s may be an antagonist, but I’m all about the protagonist - spirituality.”

My reaction was the shovel Jill needed to dig deeper.  “I need that one thing that sets you apart or defines your expertise. I need the description that drives you to do all you do…. What is your passion?” 

We had been moving so fast, I told her, “Well, on some of my various committees and boards, I use the term, ‘patient advocate.’ It sounds much better than community volunteer.”

This part of our interview haunted every waking moment for the next several days. Life titles such as, Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Realtor, Golfer, Christian, Power of Attorney, along with titles of the past, Daughter, Granddaughter, 4-H’er, horsewoman, and more, ran through my mind like a slot machine spinning for a match. I was having an identity crisis. Suddenly, I saw myself as a jack of all trades and a master of none.

For the millionth time, insecurity tried to mow away any sense of purpose I may have thought I had. With no initials behind my name to add credibility, maybe I need to admit that I’m nothing more than an interlocking puzzle piece, made for some unknown reason. I texted Jill to have her remove that patient advocate thing. Someday, that will be a title requiring a medical degree. And I don’t have that either.

Jill needed the reason behind what steers me in this direction, though I have felt that every time I take two steps forward, I take one step back. 

Looking for expertise, it struck me rather odd that with each description on my list, I visualized the relationship rather than accolades or titles. Everything important to me, was all about relationships. The definitive term creating the sum total of my life, was the connection of encouragement. If I was good at any of these things, it was solely because the wisdom of others had molded me. After all, are we not all, but a living breathing accumulation of relationships and connections of our life? Maybe God was showing me where my passion was.

But how do I sum this up? Suddenly, I remembered a small introduction that had given me unexpected confidence in a moment of nerves. “And this is Janie Carney. She is truly a ‘voice for the voiceless’.”

Every positive lifetime transformation I could think of, involved love. The responsibility of love of spouse and family, love of neighbor, and most significantly the love of God moved me beyond myself. With any outpouring of love, there is concern, where there is concern, there is advocation, when you advocate, you aid their voice.

I thought of Jill. This wildly talented woman that formerly used her gift in the corporate world, had her entire life change when she had children. Love moved her direction, in order to focus her attention toward her children in their formative years. In the process, God planted a seed that grew into a fiery vocation for her, instead of a career.  

Then I realized, Jill and her talent didn’t come to me by accident. God put something in my voice she needed. My writings resonated in her heart. I in turn, needed someone to believe in me. In the process of doing the things I was afraid of, her wisdom led me to recognize the objective of my labor. When we assist one another, we give voice to the weak voices, the wounded voices, or volume to the voices that just need to be heard.

I had been looking for that one thing that made me individually special, but then I realized singular is not designed for support. Inspiration gives strength. Giving is receiving. I could continue to ponder about all the things I wished I was, but I keep gravitating to this call that cannot be described in any other way except a ‘voice for the voiceless,’ surrounded by others that lend to that choir.

Some say ‘you need to know who you are, in order to know where you are going.’ I’ve discovered ‘when you know where you are going, you find out who you are.’ That thing called passion that Jill referred to - it is something that doesn’t let go and provides you with your sense of purpose. Great things are never achieved alone. To be a voice for the voiceless is to be one with others.