"You're Gonna Miss Me Someday," is a touching and honest memoir from author and video producer, Ken Gagne. After working for the NBA as a senior producer for 29 years, Ken decided it was time to write about his family. Ken discovered that "every family's different but every family is kind of the same. We never talked about the past. We lived in the present, in the moment." But it was their past that needed to be spoken about the most.
My guest grew up in Chicopee, MA, a mill town, textiles/paper, with hard working moms and dads just trying to provide for their families. The large immigrant community was trying to develop new skills while developing new ties with their new neighbors. Ken's father's family was from Quebec, Canada and his mom's family immigrated from Scotland.
There's quite a bit to this story that Ken shared with me and I'm not going to reveal all of it other than saying it was at times very difficult to navigate. When things are left better off not spoken about, that leaves lots of unanswered questions.
Ken was often made to feel that he was the special son, the baby of the family, the youngest boy. His 2 older sisters were always there to help out but Ken definitely got his fair share of attention. However, there were 2 other brothers that Ken tells us about in our interview. It's heartbreaking, yet at times maybe one can understand why the decision was made so many years ago.
One of the hardest challenges for Ken as a young boy, was that he "didn't want to be the cause of any more pain for my parents. I grew up trying to do all the right things. My parents were so forgiving." Yet there was always the underlying feeling that "he and his sisters were born to fill the void left by his brothers."
I thought that this was overwhelming and exhausting for a little boy but Ken "thinks that this gave him a real purpose in life. "I turned myself into a person who always did my best, not a perfectionist. Mom just wanted us to do our best." Ken never cut a class, didn't drink till he was of legal age and never got into trouble because he hoped he was helping his parents.
When Ken started working as a producer for the NBA (National Basketball Association), he basically walked through those doors as a lucky, young ambitious kid. Twenty nine years passed and he walked out as a talented, resolute adult with so many questions to answer. He was determined to write about his life and his family and it's all captured in "You're Gonna Miss Me Some Day."
Robert and David were the answer to lots of those questions. He couldn't turn back time but he has them to thank for giving him clarity and peace.
Hope you enjoy our conversation.
BOOK TITILE:
"You're Gonna Miss Me Someday"
https://www.amazon.com/Ken-Gagne/e/B099TRH83L%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share