I was in the middle of a conversation with a coworker when I heard Joy Behar share the news that Meredith Vieira’s husband, journalist and author Richard Cohen had died.  I was overcome with a feeling of sadness then relief knowing how much he’d endured due to his battle with MS. 

I never met Mr. Cohen in person but we became acquainted in 2014. An agent at Serendipity Literary in Brooklyn signed me as a client. I was working on my memoir, Misdiagnosed: The Search For Dr. House about my journey to find the correct medical diagnosis. I was eventually diagnosed with the autoimmune disease IGG4-rd. Anyway, I was asked to see if I could get endorsements for the book since I was relatively unknown and had a small presence on line.  

I compiled a dream list of authors and others who had written about or had been impacted by autoimmune disease or another chronic illness. Mr. Cohen was near the top of that list. I sent a quick email introducing myself and the project and asked if he would read it to give me a blurb. He politely declined saying his eyesight was failing. I was moved that he responded so I sent a note thanking him for entertaining my request and for writing back. He sent back on a note telling me to send the manuscript. He mentioned he didn’t often get thank you notes for rejecting someone.

A few weeks later I got back an email endorsing my book. My favorite line simply said, “good work.”

I want to tell Mr. Cohen you did good work too but not just as an author and journalist. You were a good person, a fighter and a great example to a chronically ill person like me still living with the complications from my illness. Rest easy now.

(P.S. I’d also like to thank the other “strangers” who supported my book without knowing me: Wes Moore, Mayra Hornbacker, Rhonda McCullough, Dr. Robert Lahita and many more) 

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