A Love Story
Christian Living / Nonfiction / Inspirational
Date Published: March 18, 2025
Publisher: Lucid Books Publishing
In "I've Got This: A Love Story," Mildred Marshall shares her
powerful journey of faith and resilience through a sudden, life-altering
cancer diagnosis. What began as a sharp pain one Friday evening in July 2012
quickly escalated into a Stage IV cancer diagnosis, with the odds stacked
against her. Yet, through every painful treatment and each challenging
prognosis, Mildred found peace and strength in her unwavering faith. Against
all expectations, she was declared cancer-free in February 2014. Deeply
moved by her journey, the Marshalls launched Voices of Hope, a ministry
dedicated to supporting cancer patients physically, emotionally, and
spiritually.
Mildred’s story reminds us of the strength that faith and love can
provide, even in the darkest times. "I've Got This: A Love Story"
is a testament to the healing power of grace, community, and the guiding
hand of the Great Physician.
Interview
What was your main drive to write this book?
The book is the life and faith story of my wife Mildred. She had the most rock-solid, unshakable, doubt-free faith of any person I have ever known. She also had the most God-like ability to forgive and extend grace to anyone who ever hurt her. I was blessed to have her as part of my life every day for almost 40 years. Her story is readily transferable to anyone who reads it. While she encountered numerous events during her life that could have devastated her, Mildred’s faith and love enabled her to keep marching forward. Our hope is that reading her story will impart God’s love while providing the “how to” that enables the readers to do the same.
What do you hope readers will learn by reading this book?
We wrote this book so that people who read it, particularly those who are walking their own cancer or similar journey, could know that they can overcome these illnesses. Cancer only wins when we quit fighting and Mildred NEVER QUIT. Although her normal life became different, Mildred clearly demonstrated that you do not have to sit around and wait to die because of cancer. Further, even though you may encounter difficult and horrible events in your life time, they too can be overcome.
Did you do much research when planning this book?
Since I did not have to work when Mildred was diagnosed, I became her twenty four hour/seven day a week caregiver throughout her entire cancer journey. In addition, we were together for almost forty years. As a result, I lived most of her life with her and experienced most everything she did during those last forty years. Furthermore I read and obtained information from professionals we encountered during our journey so I could better understand what we were experiencing and help her to make informed decisions.
Did you have any main people who helped you in the process of this book or influenced you to write it?
First and foremost, Mildred. She felt that her story was one that needed to be told to help others. Thus she began putting events that she had experienced in her life to paper/computer. When she died, February 15, 2018, I placed this information in a filing cabinet in my office, where it lay for six years. Then, in July 2024 the Lord told me it was time to finish and publish her story. I wrote the manuscript and then researched publishers, settling upon Lucid Books, without whose assistance I doubt I would ever have produced a finished version of Mildred’s story.
How long did this book take you to write from initial thought to hitting publish?
I believe our book had an abnormal process to get from initial thought to finished story. Mildred’s first thoughts about telling her story occurred in the middle stages of her cancer journey, which was probably during the year 2016. As time progressed and it became more likely that she was not going to outlive her cancer, she began writing events on paper/computer that she had experienced in her life; primarily events that occurred before she ever met me. Also during the cancer journey from the very first day of diagnosis I began posting on the Caring Bridge website. Although this was not done as a precursor to writing a book, these postings were invaluable when we decided to actually write a book. From the point she decided to tell her story she continued writing things down until she no longer could in late 2017. When she died, I took the papers and computer files she had produced and placed them in a filing cabinet in my office, where they sat for six years. Then in July 2024 the Lord told me it was time to finish her story and publish it. Finally on March 18, 2025 the book telling her story was officially released to the public. So if you count from the initial diagnosis date of July 17, 2012 when I started writing on the Caring Bridge website, until the book was actually released to the public on March 18, 2025, the entire process took almost thirteen years.
Do you have plans to write more about this topic or new topics?
I am contemplating whether to write a second book. Our first book was primarily focused upon adverse/dysfunctional events that occurred in my and Mildred’s lives. Those events provide a trove of stories that could be told but I will only tell them with the objective of providing information that will help others. At the moment, my focus is upon “gaining market awareness” of Mildred’s story so others can be helped.
About the Authors
Bob Marshall grew up in a row house in South Philadelphia (Rocky's
neighborhood!) before moving to southern New Jersey and later settling in
Virginia Beach in 1980, where he resides today. He holds a B.A. in Economics
and History from Dickinson College and an M.B.A. in Accounting and Finance
from Rutgers University. A certified public accountant, he has been licensed
in both New Jersey and Virginia and currently serves as a licensed chaplain
at New Life Church.
From a young age, Bob developed a deep empathy and resilience through
personal caregiving experiences. At age nine when his father was diagnosed
with MS, he became a caregiver for him, and by age thirteen he was his
primary caregiver until his father passed. In 1980, Bob married his beloved
wife, Mildred, and in 2012 became her primary caregiver during her battle
with Stage 4 cancer. Together, they founded Voices of Hope, a ministry
dedicated to bringing peace and compassion to those facing serious
illness.
Marked by resilience and compassion, Bob continues to share his journey and
experiences to encourage others. Through his ministry and writing, he
inspires hope, faith, and strength in those navigating life’s
challenges. To learn more about the author visit
www.robertmarshallchaplain.com.
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