Everyone needs a Lucille in their life – someone you can lean on, trust and share experiences with. Judy Gaman hopes to give that to some people with her newest memoir “Love, Life & Lucille.”
A local author who has published four self-help books centering on health, wellness and aging, Judy was looking for interviews for her most recent project “Age To Perfection: How To Thrive To 100, Happy, Healthy and Wise” when she met Lucille Fleming. A 100-year-old woman living in an independent living center in Dallas, Judy initially spoke with Lucille to get her perspective on living a long and full life. What they ended up getting was an enduring friendship that changed both of their lives.
"Angels find us when we're not looking for them," Judy expresses. “Although I loved everyone I interviewed, I had no connection like I did to Lucille. She became a best friend and we got attached to the hip until she died just shy of her 104th birthday.”
Having an elegant sense of fashion and stories as extravagant and exciting as her personality, Judy says Lucille had a way of strengthening others around her and inspiring them to be their best. Judy says Lucille imparted many lessons of wisdom while she was with her, but few were more valuable than learning that true friendships don’t recognize age and transcend generational barriers.
“The book started as more of a biography about Lucille, but transformed into a memoir,” Judy says. “It was about our friendship and how we both have grown so much during that time. We could all learn something from somebody else and enrich each other’s lives. Even Lucille says she learned so much from being with me. It was a two-way street – that’s what made our friendship so special.”
You can purchase the book for $8-$17 on Apple Books, Amazon or Barnes & Noble now. To read more about “Love, Life & Lucille,” visit LoveLifeLucille.com.