Please send me back to boot camp. It's difficult to ask for help, even when you know you need it. Today I'm asking for your
vote to send me to Camp Reboot! It would be nice to get back to my Navy weight, but what I'm really fighting for is my health. You can follow my journey
here.
Nomination by Tina Radcliffe:
Military veteran in need of a reboot! Please send my friend Rogenna Brewer to Camp Reboot. Rogenna has spent a lifetime serving others, first as a Chaplain’s Yeoman in the United States Navy, and then as a proud Navy wife. She’s raised three sons to adulthood, including a twenty-five year old son with Down’s Syndrome who lives at home. Rogenna excels at taking care of others but it’s always at the expense of taking care of herself.
I met Rogenna in Denver, Colorado at the local chapter of
Romance Writers of America exactly twenty years ago. RWA is the largest organization for romance writers in the world. We immediately discovered common ground in our military service, if not a friendly Army vs. Navy rivalry as well. She went on to publish her first romance novel in 1999, followed by many more and over ten years later, with her help and guidance, I followed with my first published novel.
For the last two decades we’ve been there for each other through the thick, and unfortunately not nearly as much thin as we’d like. For nearly six years, we even worked together at the same day job. While the stress and pressure of working two jobs-writing by night and the day job- took a heavy toll on our health and our weight, we tried to keep each other on track with diet and exercise strategies.
Last December I was surprised and thrilled when Rogenna announced she was leaving the day job to pursue a single job, writing full-time. Around that same time, I moved out of state. While it felt good to be quitting our jobs at the same time, it also meant leaving behind a dear friend. Email and Facebook have made it easy to stay in touch.
Recently Rogenna confessed to me that while she was grateful to be at her keyboard creating stories and talking to her fictional heroes and heroines, she was still battling with her weight. In fact, having exceeded her maximum life-time weight, she was having difficulty walking and found herself short of breath with even limited exercise.
Ironic, as I was facing a similar battle, and found myself packing on the pounds while at the keyboard. Writing the stories of your heart full-time is a life-long dream come true for any romance writer, but is also very solitary and extremely sedentary profession. As writers we spend up ten hours a day in a chair. There has to be a better way.
About six weeks ago I stumbled upon
Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead on Netflix, but I hadn’t shared the information with anyone because I really doubted there was anyone, even Rogenna, who would be willing to take Joe Cross’s challenge with me.
I was wrong. Rogenna was at the point of absolute despair. She knew her health and her career depended on changing her lifestyle once and for all. Sharing the movie and the website was the catalyst for change. Not only was Rogenna encouraged, and inspired by the movie, but she felt emotionally connected to Joe and Phillip and their journey. If they could do it. She could do it. I couldn’t see her on email but I knew without a doubt there was a fire in her eyes.
It was time to go all in, risk everything.
And you know what?
I believe Rogenna Brewer deserves a healthy happy ending of her own. She made it through military boot camp. I know without a doubt that she can make it through Camp Reboot. I know she can change her life one juice at a time. An old Navy saying is: Accelerate your life. Let’s give this Navy vet a chance to do that.
Click here to vote:
http://giveaway.rebootwithjoe.com/nominees/a518bd1fb57254
