Here are the contents of this month’s Family Newsletter:

• Family Update
• Publication Update
• Broadcast Update
• Events of the last month
• Upcoming Events

Family Update
Barb, Kate, Scott, and I took one of the most difficult steps we have ever taken as a family. We decided to publically talk about the sexual abuse that Kate and Scott experienced when they were young children.
In May 2009 the four of us, along with Scott’s precious wife, Jennifer, went into a private studio at Focus on the Family and spent over two hours talking about a chapter of our lives that had been hidden for the last twenty-five years.
We had previously discussed the event in writing in my book Bryson City Secrets. It was this abuse that led us to leave Bryson City back in 1985.
Why would Barb and I (and, why would Kate and Scott [and Scott’s wife Jennifer]) want to discuss such a private thing – such an intimate family secret publically?
Here’s what I wrote in Bryson City Secrets:

Our children were exceptionally close. They could talk together about almost anything. They were each other’s counselor and confidant. They could talk for hours and were surprisingly accurate in predicting what the other would think or say about nearly any subject.

So to have such a deep and painful discussion as a family didn’t seem unusual.

What impressed Barb and me most during our Thanksgiving visit was our children’s maturity and knowledge of biblical principles. We would each take time to share our insights about the difficulties of our past and how, in each case, God had turned apparent disease and disaster into a blessing for each of us.

Kate’s Cerebral Palsy and surgeries, Scott’s many accidents, our financial downturns, and many other family events had taught and matured us. We could see the good and the blessing that eventually developed from each situation.

As a family, we were convinced the same would come from this time of talking so openly about something we all would rather have forgotten. Finally we could talk no more. We were physically and emotionally spent. We gathered around each other to have an evening prayer.

In bed that night Barb and I held each other close for a long time.

The next morning was Thanksgiving Day. We shared a glorious Thanksgiving lunch at a restaurant in the gargantuan lobby of Union Station near the Capitol. After our meal, we practiced a Thanksgiving tradition for our family—we each named something for which we were thankful.

Around and around the comments went—for many, many minutes. We laughed and smiled and occasionally shared some tears as we each recalled all the things for which we could truly give thanks. But most of all we were thankful for each other and for the many gifts bestowed on us by our Creator.

Kate later wrote to us, “It was good for us as a family to discuss what had happened and its effects on us. I knew the Lord could bring wholeness and healing to our family. I knew that in some ways our family journey was just beginning.”

The two-day Focus on the Family Daily Radio Broadcast was titled “Finding Healing from Sexual Abuse” on Monday, February 1 and Tuesday, February 2. Information about the broadcasts can be found here:

• Monday, February 1, 2010, Finding Healing from Sexual Abuse (Part 1 of 2),
• Tuesday, February 2, 2010, Finding Healing from Sexual Abuse (Part 2 of 2).

Now, we’ve decided to discuss our pain, and our healing, publically. And, we prayed that it would be of help to many families across North America who heard this broadcast. Next month, I’ll share some of the amazing feedback we’ve received that helped us realized that our prayers were answered.
If you’re interested, you can get an autographed copy of Bryson City Secrets, or any of the other Bryson City books) here. You can also read sample chapters of most of my books here.
Broadcasting Update
There are some possibilities brewing, but no updates for this month.
Publishing Update
Update on Time Scene Investigators: The Influenza Bomb
My second novel, a sequel to Time Scene Investigators: The Gabon Virus, is scheduled for release in June. I wanted you to be the first to see the new cover for the book. I hope you like it as much as I do:

In addition, we’re beginning to receive reviews of the book. Here’s the one that’s on the cover:

• Fast-paced and gripping, this book will make us all think, This could happen.
  • Debbie Maccomber, New York Times bestselling novelist

Here are a few others:

• McCusker and Larimore have crafted a chilling tale of bioterrorism. Peppered with scientific details that bring the story to life, The Influenza Bomb is delightfully disturbing and will leave the reader with a ghastly list of “what ifs” that will haunt the reader long after the last page.
  • Harry Kraus, MD, Bestselling Author of The Six-Liter Club and Salty Like Blood
• Engaging. Innovative. Entertaining. And downright scary. Pray this story never becomes a news headline. In The Influenza Bomb, Larimore and McCusker have penned an unforgettable tale.
  • Alton Gansky, Bestselling Novelist
• I loved this story! My mind is racing. What an incredible tale!
  • Rebeca Seitz, President, Glass Road Public Relations
• I am pleased to endorse McCusker and Larimore’s TSI: The Influenza Bomb just as heartily as I did the first book in the series, The Gabon Virus. The characters, the action, the plot twists, the references to some of the most fascinating aspects of our world’s history, all ensure that one cannot put this book down after one starts to read it. Furthermore, one emerges from this reading thankful, even with the challenges confronting today’s American medical care system, for what we have in this country.  As always, the medical details in the novel are accurate and astute.  Great job once again, Walt and Paul!
  • Reginald Finger, MD, MPH, Physician Researcher and Lecturer

His Brain, Her Brain enters 7^th printing
We are so excited to have been informed by Zondervan Publishers that His Brain, Her Brain continues to sell well and bless those who read it. As such, it has just had its 7^th printing – and in less than two years. We are ecstatic about this news and hope that if you have not yet read this book about how to relate to the opposite sex, that you will consider ordering a copy.

• You can order an autographed copy here.
• You can read the Table of Contents of the book here.
• You can read the first chapter of the book here.

Events of the last month
Feb 2-8: Barb and I traveled to Kissimmee, FL, to visit with friends. From 2/4-6 I attendedg an AMA meeting. It was great to spend time with old friends – and, most especially, the time I spent with my mentor for the last twenty-five years, Bill Judge.
Feb 12-13: I flew to Austin, TX, where my friend Bill Peel and I will taught a conference at Covenant Presbyterian Church on “Workplace Grace: Becoming a Spiritual Influence at Work.”
The conference went extremely well. About the conference, one attendee wrote, “You two are fantastic presenters with this valuable content. Your information is helpful and was well received. You demystify a process that is a part of our charge as Christians. You really clarify that the harvest is not the primary focus of most Christians but that the soil preparation and sowing is a natural flow of loving relationships. This makes it much easier for each participant to take those tiny steps into the adventure of sharing our faith with people we see every day.”
Feb 24: Barb and I will be attending a Life Network Board Meeting in Colorado Springs. This was one of the most difficult board meetings we have ever attended, but we’re grateful to serve with an amazing group that handled the challenge with grace and wisdom.
Upcoming Events
Mar 1-4: Barb and I will take a few days off for vacation and a ski trip to the Copper Mountain Resort in Colorado.
Mar 4-5: I will fly to Washington, DC, to participate in a National Health Policy Forum at Georgetown.
Mar 12-13: I will fly to Minneapolis, MN, where my friend Bill Peel and I will be teaching another conference at Wooddale Church on “Workplace Grace: Becoming a spiritual influence at work.”
Mar 17: I’ll travel to Denver to present a Grand Rounds at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center on the topic of “Spiritual History as a Component of Quality Patient Care.”
Mar 29-31: I will fly to Tulsa to be a Visiting Professor at the In His Image Family Medicine Residency, while Barb will fly home to visit with her family.
Past Issues

• February 2010
• January 2010
• December 2009

You can get more information on many of my upcoming events here.