Help Hennessy get 'Touched by Hannah' edited and published

Chris Hennessy is organizing this fundraiser.

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Hey Gang!

I wish to raise funds to finish editing my (memoir) book, Touched by Hannah. I’ve been working with retired author Cecil Murphey (a top five prolific Christian Writer of the 21st century who sold 25 million books). I also hope to attend two upcoming writer's conferences.

1. I’ve worked with Cec for eighteen months and have approx. Six months to go $1000).

1b. Additional editing ($1000)

2. I must secure an agent who believes in me and my book.

2b. Find a reputable publisher.

3. I’d greatly benefit from attending an upcoming writer's conference. Conferences are the best place to meet and network with reputable agents and publishers.

a. The upcoming San Francisco Writers Conference in Feb 2025 ($2000).

b. The Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference 2025 Conference from July 31 - August 2, 2025 in Mendocino, California ($2000).

To mail a check, please make it out to Chis Hennessy

830 College Street

woodland, CA. 95695

About Touched by Hannah

A man with cancer (Hennessy). His one-pound newborn, Hannah. And their fight for life.

Chris Hennessy still battled life-threatening side effects after almost dying three days post-radical prostatectomy cancer surgery (8/3/09), and blood tests soon revealed cancer continued to invade his body. Life-threatening DVT blood clots (prostate cancer side effects) left his uninjured ankle purple and swollen and in much pain.

Then, his daughter entered the world prematurely. Hannah was due on December 7, 2009, and born September 1, 2009, and classified as a micro-preemie—weighing only one pound, nine ounces—and had only a 50% chance of surviving. Doctors said that if she made it, her odds of having an everyday, healthy life were far from favorable.

For months, Hannah and Chris fought for their lives. Chris and wife Betsy would plant themselves at Hannah’s incubator and stay late into the night, long after the other parents had left.

The only physical contact with Hannah was sticking an arm through a small hole into the incubator. Hannah’s minuscule hand latched onto her daddy’s colossal pointer finger and held it for hours while Chris sang improvised songs and prayers. Not only had the daddy-daughter bonding experience begun three months before it was supposed to, but the daddy-daughter healing experience had as well.

My story will uplift and give hope to parents of micro premature babies in NICU and help people with Prostate Cancer persevere while living life as usual.

Excerpt from Chapter One

When she wrapped her tiny fingers around mine, they felt soft as snowflakes falling unhurriedly from a silent sky, landing gently on my finger.

I thought up a song that became my anthem to Hannah. I’d croon repeatedly, “Hann’s a soft-touch baby, like outbreaks of snowflakes floating through a stormy sky. My heart has defrosted. I’m here for you, my soft-touch baby.”

Hannah became my soft-touch-baby, and when I was with her, I was truly in the moment.

Both of us would face a long, daunting road ahead. The odds were that one or both of us wouldn’t make it. Tomorrow would be a frightening thought. However, when living in the moment, there wasn’t a tomorrow. And when tomorrow doesn’t exist, there’s no stressing about it. I felt honored, blessed, and cherished every second I sat there, Touched by Hannah.

From Chris

I’ve worked hard and put my heart, soul, and everything I had into it —hundreds of hours, always taking my time to make it the best book possible. I’m currently working with the great Cecil Murphey (a retired author who sold 25 million books), who provides editing and excellent consultation and support.

Working more than 1 1/2 years with Cecil Murphey has brought me to a level I’ve strived to reach.

I joined the California Writers Club eight years ago and attended dozens of writing seminars and talks. Since then, I’ve consistently written hundreds of pages, improving my craft with each page.

Below are testimonials from the excerpt I posted on my Touched by Hannah Facebook page.

Project Details

• Memoir, approximately 50,000 words

• Manuscript to be completed by January 2025

• Target audience – young adult females, though later adulthood females, males with prostate cancer, their spouses, friends, and relatives.

• The screenplay for a possible movie for Netflix or the big screen will likely follow after the book is published.

Story Exposure

• The Touched by Hannah story was featured on NBC TV, KGO-810 San Francisco, and reached tens of thousands on social media.

• Miracles on College Street, a thirteen-minute documentary produced as a trailer and promotional film for Touched by Hannah, was a top-five documentary finalist and ‘Film Heals’ award winner (most inspirational) at the 2022 Manhattan Film Festival, New York City, and runner-up best episode at the 2022 ACM West Coast Region WAVE Cable TV Awards.