In the throes of treatment for Stage IV metastatic breast cancer, Linda Seger practices daily to prepare for her performance in the United States International Duo Piano Competition next month at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.  

“We’re doing a medley of ‘Les Mis,’ a beautiful and wonderful arrangement,” she said, referring to the musical “Les Misérables.”

A script consultant for Hollywood movies, equestrian, international public speaker, concert pianist, teacher, and author who holds a doctorate in theology, Seger seizes life’s opportunities with gusto. 

To celebrate her 80^th birthday in August, Seger performed a concert, playing duets with her music partner at Colorado College with a reception after the performance.

In her recent memoir, “Unpacking,” Seger writes of universal themes such as the impact of relationships, travel experiences and the yearn for adventure. She writes in a forest setting in Cascade where she lives in a cabin with her husband Peter Le Var.

“At the end of every chapter, I ‘unpack’ what was really going on and what did I learn from that, where did I make a mistake?” she said.

Talking about the chapters, Seger flashes her sense of humor, laughs heartily even over recalling uncomfortable situations that led to a change in her attitude.

“I’ve had good things in my life,” she said. “A lot of them are because I surrounded myself with good people.”

One chapter is about the cooling of a friendship and its resolution while others discuss the impact of relationships in her life.  

“The book is an exploration of how I was able to do certain things because there were people who were not influential at all but others who were but also confrontive,” she said.

When unpacking her decisions over the years, Seger sees that she avoided the proverbial comfort zone.  

“It’s so easy in life, when an opportunity comes that’s not in your comfort zone, never done it before, and you push it away,” she said.  “But I’ve said yes to a lot of things, but I always tried to be safe.”

Seger’s preface in the book is a peek into her search for the new, the exciting, the difficult.

“I love stories, love how they tell us about our possibilities of transformation, which can go toward the good or the bad,” she writes.

She devotes a chapter to her mother and another to her husband.

Driven to enhance her spirituality, Seger bucked the trend of women attending seminary after the Vietnam War, to which she devotes a chapter.  As a result, Seger was part of the nascent feminist movement of the 1970s.

“I was carrying some attitudes that maybe it would be good to get rid of,” she said. “It was part of the theme of saying yes when the seminary only had 10% women.”

Despite the side effects of chemotherapy, delivered in pills, Seger includes time to mentor pianists who aspire to play in the international competition.

“I am managing to find some joy in my life; the piano is my joy,” she said.

The International Piano Competition is a three-day event that begins Feb. 6. Seger expects to play Saturday afternoon.

“Unpacking: A Memoir” is available on Amazon.com.