Goodbye, Paris Nash

Book excerpt: B.R.A.G.(Book Readers Appreciation Group) Medallion Honoree. Have you ever met someone and felt you had known them forever? If you discovered that person was dying, how far would you go to help achieve their final wish?When Siobhan O'Shaunessy, a new hire at KWNK television, gets the assignment to cover the judging of the Grand Champion Steer at the Alamo City Livestock Exposition, she has no idea as she watches fifteen-year-old Paris Nash collapses at the hooves of her winning Grand Champion that her own life is going to change forever.Siobhan, privileged child of a mentally ill mother, raised by a serial marrying grandfather, has never experienced what it means to be part of a family. When embraced by the Nashes, who look to her to help them deal with media attention after Paris's fall, she surprises herself by how far she will go to help grant terminally ill Paris Nash's final wish. Enlisting her co-worker-cameraman, her best friend and a local restaurateur, they work together to save Paris's prize winning steer from a preordained date with the slaughterhouse.Siobhan can't believe she's risked her professional creditability to save a steer from slaughter, but remembers her grandfather's often repeated axiom, “Everything happens for reasons we do not understand.” As Siobhan searches for the reason the young girl has become so important to her, she discovers Paris's bravery, depth of character and commitment, and when she hears Paris's true final wish, she knows with certainty why Paris Nash came into her life.Goodbye, Paris Nash is a bittersweet yet humorous tale steeped in southwestern charm with threads of sorrow and comedic wit woven through.