K.A. Tucker: In Her Own Words

Posted December 11, 2012 by Karen in Authors, Guest Post / 3 Comments

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I’m able to admit that I have exaggerated fears of certain things. Sharks? I’m terrified of sharks. (Yeah, I know what you’re thinking…so is any sane person.) I have reoccurring nightmares about being surrounded by sharks. Open Water traumatized me. I don’t venture out beyond waist-deep water when I’m in the Caribbean, and I ensure I’m surrounded by people to reduce the odds that I’m the one who “gets it” when Jaws appears, because he will. I’m sure of it.

I’m also terrified of intruders in my house. My entire body stiffens with the thought of it. I don’t know how many times I’ve woken up at night to see a large, burly man with an axe or a knife or a gun, hovering over me, ready to murder me. It always turns out that it’s my husband coming to bed after I’ve fallen asleep. He’s not big and burly, and he doesn’t wield weapons; but for those three or four seconds before I gain full consciousness, I’ll scream my head off and scare the daylights out of everyone in the house.

My third exaggerated fear? Drunk driving. Unlike those people out there who believe bad things won’t happen to them, I’m in a constant state of fear that I’m going to lose someone to a drunk driving accident. I’m terrified that someone I love is going to make a bad choice and cause the accident or that my doorbell will ring, and I’ll find police officers with grim faces and bad news outside my door.

Of all three fears, I think the last one is the least farfetched. Every single day, lives are lost by drunk driving. Every. Single. Day. I have to believe that in the majority of those cases there is no malice, no forethought, no intentions to cause anyone harm. That adds to an already heartbreaking situation. At least you can condemn a person who wants to harm another human. How do you condemn some gangly seventeen-year-old kid who makes a terrible judgment call? When I put myself in the place of that kid, who has to look at himself in the mirror with the knowledge that he killed a family—a mother, father, a cute little kid with blond curls and big blue eyes, a painful ball forms in my throat every time. And it’s not just the teenaged boy who’s going to make this mistake. Anyone’s capable of it. The mother of two, the father of four, the grandfather… Anyone.

Ten Tiny Breaths deals with the aftermath of a horrific drunk-driving accident and learning how to move on, or not move on as in twenty-year-old Kacey’s situation. As a survivor of the accident, Kacey’s unable to deal with the pain and loss properly. But she’s not the only one who suffers. I’ll leave it at that so I don’t spoil the book for you.

Taking one of my fears and turning it into a book feels somehow therapeutic. I want the message in this book to stick with people. I want it to give them pause the next time they’ve tossed back a few drinks at a party and assume they’re fine to drive. The only way to stop drunk driving is to make people see how dangerous it is. It’s never worth it, and it only takes one night, one mistake, one second, to change lives forever. I want them to share my exaggerated fear.

K.A. Tucker Website and Links

3 responses to “K.A. Tucker: In Her Own Words

  1. Nicoleta Dumbrava

    I have not read the book, but I bought it yesterday. I will read it soon. I agree with you 100% … I never understood why people take the risk of drinking and driving, especially when they put others in danger, and even more so when they drink and then they drive with small kids in the car, who have no choice. One of my fears is that one day I will go legally on green and someone crazy will run the red light and hit me full force 🙁

  2. Erika

    Funny thing but the first two are totally me! The third one is reality and I think it is horrible how selfish people are. Thank you for this post and writing this book. I’m sure I will love it and hope to read it soon! Thanks!

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