Pat Walker and her husband took a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in 2003 that changed her life. It was the first time they had been away from their children in 17 years.
"We wanted to have some R and R and deep sea fishing," she said.
They heard that Sammy Hagar, at one time a lead singer of Van Halen and musician in his own right, was performing at his bar, "Cabo Wabo Cantina."
Her new book, "Dance of the Electric Hummingbird," chronicles the miraculous experiences she had listening to Hagar's music and how she feels it transformed her life. She will be doing a book signing at 2 p.m. Sunday at Anthology Book Co.
She said that her book "is not the story of a fan gushing over a celebrity."
What: Book signing of "Dance of the Electric Hummingbird," by Pat Walker.
When: 2 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Anthology Book Co., 422 E. Fourth St.
More info: The autobiography is available at Anthology Book Co. and online at booksellers.
She hadn't heard of the musician before and didn't know a thing about him. She and her husband stopped in to listen and the tunes were so real and raw that Hagar's music blew them away. The couple went back later that week to hear him again.
"Towards the end of the show, my husband was on the opposite end taking pictures. I had had a couple of margaritas over a period of five hours. I was feeling good but not drunk. All of a sudden, I felt this connection flowing between Sammy and me," Walker said.
The connection was like liquid golden light, she described, and she thought at first it was her imagination and the heat of the room. The words to the song, "Dreams," became tangible and she felt herself lift out of her body and observe the crowd from above.
She witnessed flashbacks to her past, being abused by her first husband, picked on in school, the joys of Christmas morning and dreams. It all came together and lifted her higher, she said.
"I started to wonder if someone had slipped something in my drink when I wasn't looking," she said. "That had never happened to me before."
Walker felt incredible, pure joy that lasted mere seconds. Afterwards, she walked outside to get some air and felt like she was 10 feet high. She was skeptical, but felt like something had changed in her.
And it wasn't just that day. In the years that followed, she experienced other things that convinced her to look at the world in a new way.
Walker wrote to Hagar and told her about the weird experience.
He responded with a signed photo and said her letter had moved him. From then on, he encouraged her in her life and writing.
She had always wanted to be a writer and was convinced to give it a shot. She and her husband went back often to hear him perform at the bar. Hagar purchased one of her books with a signed $100 bill. Ironic since she would never spend it.
"If something so extraordinary can happen to me, it can happen to anyone," she said.
Her book is an encouragement to readers to not give up on dreams and that's there's more to life than what's on the surface. She said that people forget to slow down.
"Fulfill that purpose that's yearning for more," she said. "This helped me define in life what's important and what's real in life. I've had people tell me that my book changed their life."
She added that Hagar sells her autobiography in the gift shop of his bar and promotes her at some of his shows. Hagar commissioned his son, Aaron S. Hagar, to paint the cover art of the book.
Jessica Benes can be reached at 669-5050, ext. 530, or email@example.com. Follow her on Twitter: @JessicaBenes.