“The essential things in life are seen not with the eyes, but with the heart.”—Antoine de Saint-Exupery. When I consider the themes of my new book, The Gilded Cage coming out soon, I hear the refrain repeating during the era of reconstruction after the Civil War that black lives did not matter as much as they… Continue Reading
I suppose we all think we know what a sequel is: a follow-up to a narrative concluding in a way the first one couldn’t. We usually feel it picks up threads of the original story, carrying them on to form a new realm we hadn’t imagined with the initial tale. New characters appear, adding their… Continue Reading
“Here come real stars to fill the upper skies, And here on earth come emulating fireflies” —Robert Frost I’ve always heard that optimism is a choice, and one that will, should it be made, secure better health, happiness, and a world of good vibrations for those around you. But truly, as one who has… Continue Reading
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” –Mahatma Gandhi My grandmother was fond of adages, partly because of her absolutist personality and partly because she had to embroider them by hand on a sampler when she was a child. As a result, I ended up with many of them in my own… Continue Reading
“You don’t write a novel to salve a wound, but to bear witness.”- Jane Smiley It’s a big concept, Culture; a very large balloon surrounding the social behavior of human societies, as well as the laws, knowledge, beliefs, arts, traditions, abilities and habits of the individuals in these groups. In the past, I’d usually thought… Continue Reading
“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”― Marcus Tullius Cicero That decree to the masses, an order to arrive in Bethlehem to view the newborn son of God, suggests many things. Among them is the inference that there will be many of these ‘faithful’ who should put down whatever they’re doing and… Continue Reading