Turning Tragedy INTO TRIUMPH by Caylie Howard | photos courtesy of Carrie Simpson
E
veryone goes through trials and tribulations. These troubles can come in so many different sizes, shapes, and forms. And while we are dealing with these trials, it’s so easy to get lost in the grief that you are experiencing. It becomes more and more difficult as time goes on to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Flower Mound local Carrie Simpson was able to turn her times of trial into a bright light for herself and others. Carrie Simpson is a Denton County local children’s book author. She wrote and
self-published her first children’s book
“Oh No! I swallowed a seed.” She began writing this book in 2018, and it was
released November 22, 2020. She chose
this date for a very special reason. On this date years prior, Carrie’s grandparents
Carrie always tells people to be kind to everyone.
“With all of the grief that we experienced
“You never know how different paths are going to cross” Carrie said.
were lost in a house fire.
with that day, I wanted to make it into a positive thing” Carrie said.
Carrie is also a five-time cancer survivor. September 9th will mark 22 years since
Carrie’s diagnosis. After her first diagnosis in 1999, she went on to beat her cancer
battle and was clear for seven years. It was during these seven years that she married
her husband of 19 years, Charles, and had her two daughters, Kara and Bailey. Carrie went on to battle cancer again in 2007, 2008, and 2011. 28 | FLOWER MOUND TOWN LIFE | JUNE 2021
“I had one other little diagnosis, but I don’t really count it because it was the easiest of them all.” Carrie went on to say, “My husband is a great guy. He stood by me when I was bald and battling cancer, and he loved me so sweetly.”
This proved to be true when a childhood friend that she had grown up with in Sugarland, Texas, Curtis Baldwin, became her illustrator for her children’s book. Curtis now lives in Hawaii and works as a tattoo artist. “Because he works as a tattoo artist, he had to work on illustrating the book in his own time.” Carrie prides herself on the fact that she self-publishes all of her books. She www.LiveLocalMagazines.com
