Pink Lemonade : Freshly Squeezed Insights to Stir Your Faith

by Zinda, Gayle

• ISBN13: 9780977036806
• ISBN10: 0977036804
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-10-07
• Publisher: Blu Sky Media Group

Summary

Refresh Yourself: True Stories of Struggle, Strife, And Success. It all began with a wadded up scrap of paper that languished at the bottom of her purse, lost among the loose change and old gum wrappers. Gayle was working as a nurse administrator, when a salesman slipped her a note with a phone number, This is someone you should meet. Gayle read the name on the note: Rita Snider. Yeah, sure, Ill get right on it, she thought, dropping it into her purse. There it sat - for a year. One day, on impulse, Gayle fished out the note and called. As soon as shed said hello, Rita replied, Honey, Ive been waiting for your call. A few days later, Gayle visited with Rita, and listened to the remarkable story of her battle with breast cancer. Diagnosed at age 36, Rita began chemotherapy and lost her hair nine times over. After a humiliating search for wigs and prosthesis, Rita declared Never again! Determined to help others, Rita opened a shop called The Lemonade Stand. A place to come and be refreshed, it was a safe and comfortable salon that provided women with everything they would need for their own fight with cancer. For seven years, she tirelessly helped hundreds of women fight the same battle that she was fighting. Rita surprised Gayle by saying, The Good Lord told me that if I hung on long enough, Hed send someone to carry on. As soon as you walked in, I knew it was you. As amazing as it sounded, by the end of the day Gayle decided to quit her job and devote herself to The Lemonade Stand. Rita passed away later that year, but Gayle kept her dream alive for over a decade more. Those years were filled with financial struggles, heartaches, and challenges without end; but there were countlessgifts and rewards as The Lemonade Stand went on to help over 10,000 clie

Author Biography

Gayle was born in Ft.Thomas, Kentucky in 1956. Her childhood was the usual mix of lemons and lemon drops; but at age 19 Gayle took her first truly sour bite out of life. She got married! Some people are not marriage material, and Gayle had found one of them. After a few volatile years, she was divorced, with two bright young boys to raise and not a drop of child support to rely on. Gayle had a choice to make. She could follow the path of welfare and go nowhere. Or, she could take the hard road, and work to make something of herself and her sons. Over the years, she worked tirelessly at many jobs and careers. Financial setbacks and major surgeries were obstacles along her path; but Gayle took the lemons that life gave her and made lemonade with them. There wasn't always a plan, but the direction was always forward.Then, in one shining moment, it all came together; a new path lay before her, a new life ahead. At the moment of truth, a medical saleswoman slipped Gayle a note. On it, was a name and number that would change her lifeùforever. Gayle dropped it in her purse and forgot about it. There it sat, for a year. When she finally did read it and dial the number, a woman said, ôHoney, I've been waiting for your call.ö Gayle met Rita Snider in 1989, and listened to the remarkable story of her battle with breast cancer. After a humiliating search for wigs and breast prostheses, Rita declared ôNo more!ö and opened The Lemonade Stand. This welcoming salon provided women with everything they'd need for a fight with cancer. Rita surprised Gayle then, by saying, ôThe Lord told me that if I hung on long enough, He'd send someone to carry on. As soon as you walked in, I knew it was you.ö Crazy or not, by day's end Gayle had quit her secure nursing job to devote herself full-time to The Lemonade Stand. Rita passed away that year, but Gayle kept the dream alive for a dozen more. The years were filled with financial drama, heartaches, and endless challenges; but there were countless rewards as Gayle and her team went on to help more than 10,000 clients. Now, a lung cancer survivor herself, Gayle spreads a message of hope, determination, and awareness!