From One Man's Heart

"Pain and Suffering are inevitable, but misery is optional." I once saw this motivational statement on a running shirt. I liked it and subscribed to it during my time as an ultra marathoner. When I reunited with my sweetheart from 1967 and married her in 2005, I began to understand that phrase in a new and challenging way. Harriette Burnette and I met and enjoyed a love affair in the summer of 1967. We lost touch and lived separate lives for thirty-eight years. During that time we lived very different and challenging lives. She suffered through a series of painful family and personal losses while raising two children on her own. I fought battles with depression, alcoholism, and professional dissatisfaction. Ultimately, after thirty-two years, my marriage ended in a divorce as well. During our separate, but incredibly similar experiences in life, we each held the belief that life still had something special in store for us. In 2005, through a series of unusual events, I made contact with Harriette after a thirty-eight year hiatus. Our subsequent reunion, courtship, and marriage made us believe that a power greater than ourselves worked in our lives to fill our needs and work miracles for us. Little did we know that, when we said, "I do" on that cold day in 2005, we were about to hop on one of life's most frantic, harrowing, and unimaginable rides. We both discovered the true meaning of pain as well as suffering and learned how our reactions to life's challenges can forever change lives. We took the pain and suffering, but we decided that misery just could not be an option. Jim Womack is a native of Botetourt County, Virginia and a graduate of Virginia Tech, where he studied Civil War History under the noted historian Dr. James I Robertson. Jim taught history at James River High School in Botetourt County for twenty-eight years before retiring in 2003. From 2000 until 2005, he trained for and ran many ultra marathons in central Virginia and elsewhere as well as traveled and backpacked around the western United States. In 2005, he reunited with his sweetheart from 1967 and entered a new and wonderful life with his new bride, Harriette. Shortly afterward, he learned that he had cancer and that his life would drastically change. Together, Jim and Harriette enjoy the providential love which they have found and continue to work together to build a special home for themselves and their families. As more and more people heard their remarkable story of love lost and love regained, Jim decided to write down their story and share their marvelous journey as a tribute to their individual and collective triumphs over disease and disappointment. In addition to From One Man's Heart, Jim also published a collection of student bloopers entitled When Misquotes Bit You. He is in the process of writing short stories about his youth in Botetourt County, his outdoor experiences, and his new life in Northern Virginia with Harriette. He plans to release one new volume each year.