Judy Stih, the author of the inspirational book Worth Saving, A Memoir (independently published; 2017), was featured on the latest episode of America Tonight’s “Author’s Corner,” where Kate Delaney interviewed her.
This book tells the author’s experience and some emotional transformations in her life, her hardships, setbacks, and some very important lessons she learned along the way. It is a moving and informative memoir of a turbulent upbringing inspired by her alcoholic father’s journey to sobriety and by her mother’s strength through adversity. Judy describes all of the hardships and problems she conquered through love, strength, and dedication due to her unwavering commitment to both an alcoholic father and devoted and loving mother.
On top of that, the stories presented in this book will help people overcome familial troubles without giving up on one another. The author’s recollections describe the positive and negative aspects of what families go through and how they find the solutions to their problems. Through love, forgiveness, and acceptance, no matter how imperfect and broken a family is, there is always a way to make it all work.
Getting to know Judy Stih
Judy has gone through a lot of adversities in her life. There came the point in her life when she wanted to give up. To get through it all, she kept a journal in which she wrote everything she felt. It was her way of coping, of enduring, and of keeping herself together.
Growing up, Judy had a tough childhood. She grew up with her parents, often arguing with her mother, usually arguing over his father’s drinking habits, and her father promising not to drink but then drinking again. Her father thought he wasn’t an addict; he had six brothers, and “what they did was they would sit around a table at night and have a shot of beer and listen to the radio. None of them thought they were alcoholics. Two of them passed with alcoholic poisoning late in life,” Judy said. They believed that they could stop it at any time.
It was not easy for Judy, absorbing all that negativity at home, but she grew up into a fine young adult despite all that.
“What made you write your book?” Kate asked
“Well, I’m not an author, I’m an artist, but I needed to process my life after 22 years of growing up with an alcoholic father,” she said. In fact, when her mother was sick with severe dementia, she created journals for herself when she was caring for her mother. “You know? There was never a time in my life when I wasn’t caring for my mother,” she told Kate in an interview.
When her mother passed, there was this grief that came through her door and would not leave. “It was unexpected; it was horrible that I decided to sit down and write,” Judy said. And, in the midst of her grief, she turned to writing for consolation. It was there that she found her literary inspiration.
For seven years, she wrote everything down of what she did to stimulate her. She decided to make separate columns: forgiveness from ages 8 to 15, pain from 15 to 22, and anger from ages 15 to 22.
“I just started writing, and I would just sit down and write because I was getting to the point where I was wearing my mother’s pajamas and was sleeping on the floor…,” Judy explained as things seemed to be out of hand. She expressed how she had learned a lot from her mother, how she taught her strength and adversity, how she kept going on and never gave up, and lastly, how to pursue the things she loved.
“What can people take away from reading “Worth Saving”?” Kate asked
“I want them to see that this journey was hard. I want them to see my dad’s journey, and I want them to keep going and not quit. I want people to know to never put their mother at a nursing home. I just want them to see unconditional love; it’s all about love,” Judy answered.
What advice do you have from people who want to overcome familial difficulties?
“Your whole life doesn’t have to stop because of things that are happening behind closed doors,” Judy said to Kate.
Want to know more about Judy Stih’s story? Get a copy of her book Worth Saving today on Amazon.