Buying your next book direct
Choices abound when it comes to how we purchase books. But, the way you purchase books makes a difference for the author, local community and the future of publishing. Check out this link from She Writes Press for what you need to consider before purchasing your next book. Why Buy Direct
home for the holidays
The holidays are a time for connecting. Whether Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah or Passover, we mark these holidays as a time to join with family and friends and celebrate traditions. And there couldn't be a more important time to find home than during the holidays. In my memoir, Under the Birch Tree, I discover the many connections that bring me to a home place. When walking at night along the Embarcadero in San Francisco, I am reminded of the holidays at my girlhood home in the suburbs of Chicago. The festive [...]
connections – from which all things grow
In my forthcoming memoir, Under the Birch Tree, I explore the discovery of connections and their meanings in my life. Growing up on Carlisle Avenue, I deem a birch tree, not only my buddy, but also synonymous with home. I would carry this first connection, a catalyst for many others, through the decades. Home, by definition, takes on several meanings. We can define home as where one lives permanently, where one grew up, or a resting place. While living in my girlhood home, I learn home is not limited by [...]
How we connect to home
What is “home?” Most people would say it’s where they live, citing their address, as if to establish their unique footprint. For others, home is where they grew up, where they started. Some may even have more than one home. In my forthcoming memoir, Under the Birch Tree, my story begins with my girlhood home, the place where I grew up. I learn what home is by embracing it, outside and inside the house. I was a walker and “I would circle the house, starting in the backyard, continuing around [...]
Birches: uncomplicated innocence
In my early years, I grew to know a particular birch tree, planted on the same plot as I was. Its delicate arms played in uncomplicated innocence, inviting me to circle around it. I am reminded of Robert Frost’s reflections of innocence, carefree spirits, and evolving years: I like to think some boy’s been swinging them . . . And they seem not to break; though once they are bowed, So low for long, they never right themselves: You may see their trunks arching in the woods, Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on the ground, [...]
Birch: symbol of hearth and home
“And then there was my birch buddy, never failing to wave in the picture window with its branches posing like an umbrella over our reflection, providing peace in the silence and innocence of child and home.” When I was a little girl, I remember sitting on my Dad’s lap in the wingback chair in the living room after dinner. We sat snuggly in the corner, just the two of us, our eyes focused on the storybook’s pages. And the darkness of night seen through the window next to us was a mural of [...]
Happy Anniversary Magic of Memoir!
One year ago, 38 writers, including me!, shared their stories. This writer's companion includes tips for dealing with the inner critic, strategies to motivate in dark times and lessons learned from mistakes made and overcome. I still refer often to this portable bundle of inspiration and recommend it even if you are not a writer and need your own inspiration to help you out of a bad place. Magic of Memoir is there to help you, too, on your journey to a better place, to home. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
A birch tree, my source of strength and renewal
A birch grew tall and arabesque in the corner of my front yard of my girlhood home. Through the decades, my birch tree followed me, no matter where I would find myself, signaling home, my place to be. My birch tree became my buddy, shadowing me when I would need to leave yet another resting place. No matter where I found myself, a birch tree was always there. As my college years came to an end, I wondered what was next for me. Graduation would mark the end of college life [...]