I am looking back on the roller coaster of last week and all the highs and lows that went with it.  After 17 years of a very gratifying relationship with HSN I started my first show with ShopNBC.  It was sort of like the first day of school.  You hope you like your teacher, your classmates, and you hope your hair looks good!  Thankfully, I am so comfortable in this new home with my new friends and support staff.  I couldn't ask for a more talented and exciting group of people and look forward to this relationship unfolding at ShopNBC.  At the same time the launch was taking place, some comments of mine on the passing of Patrick Swayze were published which led to a firestorm of response and dialog. Do we all accept what is reported and form opinions or do we ask questions to find out the entire story?  I have been in the public eye for a few decades now - and part of being a public person is knowing comments will be taken out of context or the intent will be twisted.  It's something you can't control and it comes with the territory.  It's particularly upsetting when people are hurt by these comments and that is why I issued an apology to Patrick's family.

Much has been printed about me, and contrary to many of the adverse comments, I do not fancy myself an authority on every subject.  That being said, as with each human on this earth, I have had my own personal obstacles.  Each time I am faced with a challenge I have researched the problems in order to overcome the adversity.  Whether it has been the issues I have faced being the child of an alcoholic, or trying to lose the weight I gained in my forties, or restoring balance to my life after menopause - I have committed many years of my life to finding answers, for myself.  At the end of each search, when I had found my own answers, I felt I had something to share and thought others might benefit from the work I had done for myself.

In Keeping Secrets - my book about growing up with an alcoholic dad - I uncovered how children of alcoholics share so many traits from enduring this experience.  I learned to move past those obstacles, to grow, and even forgive my abusive father.  I received tens of thousands of letters from people who thanked me for sharing my experience and told me that it had helped them with their own demons in some way.  That doesn’t make me an authority, but it connected me to people who had similar challenges and opened a dialog about how to overcome those challenges.

I also never planned on writing a series of weight loss books, but the extra pounds I was carrying evolved into nine weight loss books on a healthy lifestyle called Somersize.  Again, I found something that worked for me, and then my family and friends all wanted to know about it, so I wrote it down.  Again, that doesn't make me an authority – I just shared what worked for me and gave others the opportunity to see if it might work for them, too.  It did, in fact over 10 million people joined the movement and the letters of gratitude and the stunning before and after photos were deeply moving for me to see this was a solution for so many.  That doesn’t make it the only solution – but it worked for so many.

Then came the series of books on bio-identical hormones and anti-aging medicine - The Sexy Years, Ageless, and Breakthrough.  I met with hundreds of doctors, experts, and researchers in the medical and academic community.  I asked a lot of questions and tried to simplify the information until it made sense to me.  The resulting information was so compelling; I felt others might want the benefit of these interviews.  Most of us don't know where to begin to look for medical information, let alone have access to cutting-edge physicians.  I know having that information has changed the course of my life and my decisions on how I live each day.  I don't expect anyone to mimic my decisions - I just put out the information so individuals can make their own choices.

Dialog is important. Join me in asking the questions, doing the research and exploring the options.  Register at my web site, read my books and blogs, and get active in discussion with your caregivers to make sure your best interests are being met to your level of satisfaction.  Get active in the debate on health care!  The course of treatment we select is very personal and each of us has the right to make our own choice.  Again, I respect the choices Patrick, and millions of others, make each year on the course of care they choose. It is not my goal to sway anyone's opinion.  I just put out information for the taking.

More to come,

Suzanne