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Starting Off 2013 with a Contemplative Bang
Theresa Goyette Ceniccola Let me introduce you to Theresa. She’s kind, spunky, creative, and playful. Can’t you just see all of these things in her face? She’s also a mom and a very savvy business...
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Who Else Wants Simplicity? April Yamasaki’s Sacred Pauses Offers a Way
April Yamasaki We all know about the value of silence, taking breaks, and breathing deeply. We know we’re supposed to do these things. But then we get completely involved in our work. And we forget....
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What Makes a Memoir “Too Personal”? What Makes it Good?
Evocative souvenir photo from Richard Gilbert's trip to England last summer Richard Gilbert asks and answers an intriguing question today: What gives memoirists the right to share their stories? As you...
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How a Romantic Getaway Led Me to An Ideal Reader: And Another Book Giveaway
Kathy Pooler, connector extraordinaire Kathy Pooler is one of my most prolific and generous memoir writer friends. If you’ve been following this blog, you have met her talking about how to use Twitter...
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The Blessed Ties of Memoir: And A Chance at TWO Book Giveaways
Vermeer's The Milkmaid Dairy maids don’t often make it into literature. A.A. Milne placed one in a poem about the King’s breakfast. And Thomas Hardy wrote The Milkmaid about a young woman disappointed...
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Another Winner: Elfrieda Schroeder’s New Beginnings Keep on Going and Going
For 100 Days Elfrieda Schroeder woke me up in the morning. She never forgot to write her New Beginning entry into the 100 Day Challenge Contest. I missed her after the days were over, and I want you to...
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Your Chance to be an Author! Tell a FriendStory
Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, author Some of the people who read this blog are authors and bloggers. Other people who read this blog have a closeted desire to write. They need a little push. So, here’s...
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Sharing Nostalgia for Childhood at Christmas Time With Linda Gartz
Nostalgia. Comes from two Greek words meaning a longing for home. Probably Christmas brings out more nostalgia than any other time of the year. According to the New York Times, nostalgia is good for...
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Crossing Cultures Through Memoir: A Guest Blog Post
Do you remember Jimmy Carter’s mother Lillian? She did many remarkable things, but what I remember most is that she applied to the Peace Corps at age 68 and then nursed leprosy patients during a...
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Interview with Carol Bodensteiner, Memoirist Turned Novelist
Meet Carol Bodensteiner. Pershaps you already have. Fellow writer Janet Givens refers to her as my twin! That’s because both of us wrote memoirs about being country girls and growing up on dairy farms....
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The Quiet, Productive, Connected Very Good Day: Tina Fariss Barbour’s Wise Words
Last week I broke one of the basic rules of good writing. I got a little carried away with adjectives, writing about the Amazing, Excellent, Superb, Splendid Very Good Day. I’ll blame my infatuation...
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Always Returning: Prairie Wisdom for Breathing in a Good Day Every Day
So what if the day you are having doesn’t seem like A Good Day? No day can be Good all the time! I’ve learned much Prairie Wisdom from my friend Daisy Hickman, author of Always Returning: The Wisdom of...
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Recovering Joy in A Good Day: The Woman in the Photograph
What if the only clue you had to your mother’s past was a photo taken before you were born — when she was young, carefree, and beautiful? What if it looked like this:How would you feel, upon waking up...
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Two Volunteers Who Make This July Special
July has always been my favorite month — and the fastest to flee. Today I’m going to try to slow it down just a bit by sending you two volunteers. The first is this sunflower, which sprang up next to a...
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Joan Rough Takes on a Big Challenge of the Jubilación Years : Forgiveness
My current theme of Jubilación, defined as joyful vocation in the elder years, does not exclude challenges. Far from it! Most people are well aware that aging inevitably has negative consequences and...
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A Role Model Shows Up in the Inbox: Plus, A Book Giveaway
All my life I have looked ahead to someone older to help show me the path ahead. Role models, we sometimes call these people. I started early, looking up to my neighbor Shirley Clark. She was a member...
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