Books: Writing One, Being One
Plus my exciting April travel itinerary!
Hello friends!
Delighted first of all to share that the first shipment of my new book is HERE! Nanamorphosis: Reflections on an Ever-Evolving Life is my fifth collection of humorous spiritual essays. Topics in this one include my retirement after 20 years as a Lutheran church spiritual formation director, the never-popular pandemic, and watching Aiden and Peter grow up (much too fast).
Please contact me, or visit my website if you’d like to order a copy!! End of commercial😊
Speaking of books…
For the past several years I have been part of an amazing organization called The Human Library. Based in Copenhagen, The Human Library has volunteers from all over the world who serve as “human books” to be “read” by interested people. The “books” include people who are misunderstood or marginalized in some way, and the idea of these conversations is to “un-judge someone.” My book is called “bipolar” and I have spoken with dozens of people about my illness, mainly on Zoom so far, but I just did my first in-person event at a local public library. I am SO heartened by the positive reactions, and the sharing. Check it out!
Travel Time!
On Monday Steve and I will head South, driving first to Burnsville, a little town in the North Carolina mountains where Steve passed his happy college summers performing at Parkway Playhouse. The company put on six different shows in six weeks, striking the set on Saturday night after one play, and immediately prepping for the next. No set striking this time, just a night at a cozy inn (and hopefully some North Carolina BBQ)!
The next morning we’ll drive over to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where we’ll spend a couple of days with Steve’s sisters Ruth and Jean, brother Phil, and Phil’s wife Jackie. I’m anticipating a pleasant reunion, with zero name tags necessary. In addition to its primary reputation as New Seyfried Gathering Spot, Gatlinburg is known as the Gateway to the Smokies, featuring a moonshine distillery, Hillbilly Golf, and Ripley’s Believe it Or Not Museum, believe it (or not).
Steve, Ruth and Phil at Sheridan’s wedding (2012)
The following week, I’ll repack my bags for a flight to Seattle to visit Evan. Evan has been leading tours of the area for the past few years, so in addition to spending time with my much-missed son, I’ll be traveling around with a Pacific Northwest expert. He really loves living out there, and I’m delighted that he’ll be able to show me some reasons why. Knowing Ev, those reasons will undoubtedly include “several” nature hikes, so I’m gearing up now with a couple of short walks through the neighborhood. Should be plenty of prep, right?
Giant redwoods in Olympic National Park. I pray Evan doesn’t make me climb one.
Just think, I’ll end April conversant about Puget Sound, Mount Rainier, and the Olympic Peninsula! All that PLUS Hillbilly Golf!! Wow!!
Blog Preview:
“The Dash” is a very sentimental poem, often read at funerals. It refers to the dash between your birth and death dates, (you know, 1956-?) and asks, “how did you spend your dash?” Come on over to Working Title tomorrow and find out how I’m spending mine!!
Inspirational Quote of the Week: (kinda explains why I write)
“We fill in the gaps. We find stories in every little moment and gather them up readily. We imagine that the unknown isn’t the worst scenario and we try to make sense of the senseless. We look for the silver linings and the why and what ifs and what should have beens. We try to solve the puzzles, pieces scattered through time and space and the deepest corners of our memories. And what better way is there of doing that, what better way is there of processing our past, than by rewriting it?”
– Cecile Pin
Wishing you all time to read, to write, to travel and to enjoy this wonderful world!
With Evan in Hawaii (April 2011)