"Where were you the day that Kennedy died?" my dinner guest asked me recently. I wondered why she wanted to know, but, as most of us who were alive then, I could remember exactly. "Sitting at my sister's kitchen table, " I said. "I know you weren't at work that night. And I missed you." …
International Christian Retail Show – 2011
Getting ready for Atlanta next week. Meeting up with the publisher of Caring Lessons, Deep River Books, at the International Christian Retail Show (check out the impressive list of exhibitors). Looking forward to media interviews and book signings. And to hanging out with my friend Marianna who will join me (and who plays a starring …
Nursing Power in “First Sentences”
In my quest, as a nurse, to become a writer of memoir, I learned the importance of first sentences: to draw the reader into the story immediately. Think of the classics: “Call me Ishmael” (Melville's Moby Dick) and "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...” (Dickens's A Tale of Two …
Nurse Heal Thyself
In 2000, the summer after I retired from teaching nursing, I took my first writing course. It was with Carol LaChapelle at the Newberry Library in Chicago. She assigned us to write a character sketch. I had no idea what that was. As she went on to explain, I thought, Oh, that's just a head …
Surviving as a Working Mom
As a retired nurse promoting a career memoir, people have asked how I did it all—raise kids, get a PhD, and work in nursing. It’s now an old story, but one that got resurrected recently when my husband asked me to read an article in the newspaper. In the article, “Poll: Many moms resent carrying …
1925 Virtual Newstand
Do you have any magazines in your attic that date back to the summer of 1925? If so, I've stumbled upon a use for them. While looking up the history of Redbook magazine, I discovered the 1925 Virtual Newstand. The site describes an ongoing senior class project at the University of West Florida taught by …
Thornton Quarry – Illinois
If you don't mind waiting 3-4 years to tour the Thornton Quarry, this is an outing for you. When you’re traveling south of Chicago on the Tristate, have you ever wondered about that deep stone hole below that “dike” you’re crossing? For years, we’ve traveled that road to Michigan, and I would crane my neck …
Fire Safety — A Nurse Grandma’s Scare
The next time you’re moaning about having to attend a mandatory fire safety program, interrupting your day, at your workplace, think about this story. The other night I was babysitting for my daughter’s two children under two on the 13th floor of a high rise her family was renting for vacation. I was burping the …
2011 Printers Row Lit Fest
If you’re a reader and/or a writer, you would love the free, two-day Printers Row Lit Fest, the largest literary event in the Midwest, sponsored by the Chicago Tribune. Read details here. With 200 booksellers, 7 stages, and more than 100 free literary events, I spent an evening scouring the schedule in the Tribune’s insert, …
Write Along with Me 