MayAnn Westgard, hopes to share her wisdom and bring hope through her new book Lost But Never Alone

By Tiffany Goodwein

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What started as a way to share her own history with her children has instead reached audiences far and beyond. At 77-years-old MaryAnn Westgard never imagined she would be a published author. But like so many during the pandemic, she needed something to do so she began to put pen to paper.

The words flowed easily for Westgard, as she began writing her story inside her apartment. The goal was to finish writing the story for her family by Christmas, but Westgard’s intuition led her elsewhere.

“ Somehow I was feeling this urge to put it out to the public, and I thought ‘ this is crazy because there is a lot of private stuff in there and I never told people a lot of it. But I just kept having this urging that it had to get out there,” she said.

She sent her story to a publisher, who six weeks later, unexpectedly agreed to take it on.

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The book, Lost But Never Alone, hinges on her personal life story, filled with ups and downs. The story also chronicles how alcoholism can destroy a family, and cause long-lasting consequences.

Westgard said she wanted to publish the story to bring hope during COVID-19, a time Westgard says many are struggling with mental health issues, loneliness, alcoholism, and family violence.

Her hope is for people to realize they are never alone.

And Through her years of trials and tribulations, her biggest advice to people struggling is to never give up, no matter how difficult life may be.

“The sun will shine again, the clouds come but they don’t stay,” she said.

Now a published author, she’s also hoping other seniors will use the time available to them to do something they’ve always wanted to do, whether that’s writing a story, art, or another hobby.

Since publishing her book earlier this year, her book has landed on the Friesen Press Bestsellers list two weeks in a row.

Lost But Never Alone is available online.