As a PK, preacher’s kid, I moved every few years. Last weekend, I became aware that, in writing memoir, I rarely address my past peripatetic life. And now I have a fresh reason to at least jot some memory prompts for later stories on the place where I lived from age nine to twelve: Lafayette, …
Category: memoir
Another Tip for Writing Memoir
Infusing ordinary lives with detail makes story, Marilyn Abildskov* told us at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival in July. She presented several examples where authors framed their stories around the everyday details of life. One example, the “action detail” of washing dishes, propelled me to “free associate.” In Tobias Wolff’s short story, “Say Yes,” washing …
Caring Lessons in the Nursing Classroom
Nursing faculty: Are you planning textbooks for your fall courses? I invite you to consider Caring Lessons: A Nursing Professor's Journey of Faith and Self as a good choice for a recommended or required reading in courses related to career development. Caring Lessons chronicles my forty years in nursing, from diploma to PhD and nurse's …
Caregivers Write Your Stories (#6) / Living with Fibromyalgia Part III
This post is the last of the series on why caregivers should write their stories, caregivers of others and caregivers of yourselves. Three reasons addressed in this series are: to keep a record, to vent ("scream your words on the page rather than hurl them into the air"), and to educate and encourage others in …
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Caregivers Write Your Stories (#5) / Living with Fibromyalgia Part II
In Part II of my Living with Fibromyalgia topic*, I’ll be telling you about the new “career” I started after retiring early (age 58) from teaching nursing, a new career of “everything” fibro. Starting this adventure, I read everything my library held and everything I could find online. When I started to see duplications, I …
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Caregivers Write Your Stories (#4) / Living with Fibromyalgia Part I
What do you think of the old adage that misery loves company? I’ve found that to be true just so far. For example, I want to be able to share my challenges of fibromyalgia with others who have it, but I also don’t want to get dragged down by too many pity party stories. At …
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Review of Caring Lessons by Mary A. Osborne, Nurse and Author
I'm happy to present a recent Amazon review of Caring Lessons: A Nursing Professor's Journey of Faith and Self by Mary A. Osborne, nurse and author of Nonna's Book of Fiction, titled A Purpose Driven Life: It is an act of bravery to reveal one's life story in detail, to express one's struggles and fears …
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Caregivers Write Your Stories (#3)
As a caregiver, do you ever feel like screaming? I wanted to scream recently on a Grandma/Grandpa babysitting weekend. Wanting to scream is a natural response to frustrating experiences. So, another reason for writing your stories is to scream your words on the page, rather than hurling them into the air. Here’s a story I …
Caregivers Write Your Stories (#2)
As a caregiver, you might be asking yourself, “Why write my caregiving stories?” I can think of several reasons that writing them would be good and fun. The first is to keep a record. All caregivers know that part of caregiving is keeping track of medications, treatments (changing dressings, taking blood pressures), doctors’ appointments, lab …
Memorial Day – 2012 – Pause and Reflect / Chester Roelofs
Today we remember Marv's uncle, Chester Roelofs, who died during WWII in the Battle of the Bulge. A few years ago, we found his name inscribed in a line up of long, rectangular, ground-level slabs in Ardennes National Cemetery in Belgium. It was an awesome moment--to see all the names of people whose bodies were …
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Write Along with Me 