WACO, Texas — A Waco veteran who is legally blind hopes to send a message of hope by sharing her favorite holiday memory in her latest children's book, "Yes, Yes, Yes Santa! I Really Do Believe!"
"I wrote my first book at 73," Suzanne Taylor said.
Her adventurous life has taken her to Europe with a ballet company, seven years with the Navy, a successful restaurant management career, and now a career as an author.
"I was one of the first enlisted women to serve on a Navy ship," Taylor said. "Just an incredible experience with pretty incredible people."
Taylor's latest book, "Yes, Yes, Yes Santa! I Really Do Believe" is a tale from her childhood.
It was a humble Christmas in the 1950s in a two-bedroom apartment in North Kansas City, Missouri that fills the pages.
"They didn't have a lot of money," Taylor said about her parents. "My dad worked for Schlitz Brewing company for almost 40 years. He was in WWII and he was a very quiet man. But he loved Christmas. Loved Christmas," she said.
On this particular Christmas Eve, there was a Santa sighting she'll never forget. With her parents still in their room, a 10-year-old Taylor decided she'd never doubt the power of love and giving.
"It actually brings tears to my eyes," she said.
Despite being legally blind, she wanted to share her story -- and expressed her gratitude in making it happen, thanks to the help of the Veteran's Administration.
"They gave me all kinds of equipment to make my life easier because I can no longer see to read, to write or to drive," Taylor said.
As another Christmas is fast approaching, she hopes her words offer hope.
"I think my message is a hopeful one," she said. "There's so much going on in the world right now. There's so much division and crisis that what I would love to see is what most people want to see and that is all of us coming together and having joy in our hearts again. Love in our hearts again. That is what my little Christmas book is all about."
Suzanne's book can be purchase at Amazon.