Just weeks after its release, Deanna Favre's memoir, "Don't Bet Against Me," a tale of her battle with breast cancer and marriage to a certain famous quarterback, has inspired readers from across the country.
A couple hundred gathered Wednesday at Mayfair Mall to let Favre know how much.
The line for her book signing began forming shortly after 9:30 a.m. near the wedding / etiquette shelf on the second floor of the Barnes & Noble store.
Within an hour, it stretched back to the teen section and eventually began to snake its way back past the sports books and toward the escalators.
At 2:30, an announcement came over the intercom. Favre's plane had just landed at the airport and she was running a bit behind schedule.
"What did they just say?" asked a woman near the front of the line.
"If you weren't in front, you would have heard," replied a male voice somewhere around No. 150.
"Oh, well," another woman near the front of the line said, motioning toward the rest of the line. "They have to have some advantages over there."
Spirits were high at the front of the line, where an easy camaraderie developed among customers who refer to each other by numbers, which indicate line position.
Judy -- aka No. 1 -- arrived at the store Tuesday, 24 hours early, and bought three copies, the maximum number allowed for signing at the event.
"I came early because I wanted to check the place out," Judy said. "I asked a manager where I should get in line. I just wanted to be first."
As more customers entered the store -- women in pink and men in Packers jerseys -- Favre was escorted into a basement breakroom / storage area and began "warming up" for her appearance by signing copies of the book that details her battle with breast cancer and her relationship with her husband, Brett, who happens to be the Packers quarterback and one of the more popular athletes on the planet.
Though she describes herself as shy, Favre seemed at ease in the spotlight and clearly is inspired by meeting people who find inspiration from her story.
Favre was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2004, less than a week after her younger brother died in an ATV accident. She was declared cancer-free in June 2005, and a series of meetings with survivors and patients since prompted her to found the Deanna Favre HOPE Foundation, which is designed to help uninsured or underinsured women fight breast cancer.
"It has been amazing," Favre said. "After diagnosis, all the women that came up and shared their stories. That's what made me do this."
A pivotal moment came when Favre met a 40-year-old mother of three who was undergoing chemotherapy treatment.
"She told me ‘You saved my life'" Favre said. "She said ‘I had a lump, but I had chosen not to get it checked. When your story came out, I decided I better.'
"That was a huge impact for me and one of the reasons I thought I should probably do it was to reach to more women like that and to hopefully point out the importance of early detection and self exams."
Since the book was released a few weeks ago, Favre has made several promotional appearances that have left her tired and inspired. At her signing Wednesday, an assistant made sure that there were boxes of tissues on the table because the stories and emotion from attendees often lead to tears.
"I'm just having a hard time keeping this pace, with trying to be everything to everybody," she said. "But, I still fully intend to try to meet as many people and do as many things as I can over the next couple months."
Though the foundation's work is currently based in Wisconsin and Mississippi, Favre hopes to take it national.
"I'm amazed at what's been going on, with all the hits we've gotten all the orders for merchandise and books and feedback and just the letters I've been getting from people telling me their stories and sending donations," she said.
"I was doing the checkbook this morning. We've collected almost $700,000 since its inception. I'm really excited about what I've been able to do.
"Hopefully, we can go national. I feel like, for breast cancer, it needs to be national. It's affecting so many people. Hopefully, I can do that. I just need a bigger staff."
Favre said the support from Packers fans and people in Wisconsin was remarkable.
"We're truly blessed to have the support we have in this area," she said. "I couldn't ask for a better place to be or for Brett to play. People genuinely care about community and what's going on and who is helping whom. Everybody wants to be part of it. I think we're blessed to be here."
Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
