“Our humanity is the one thing that we all have in common.”—Melinda Gates There’s been a joke going around in literary circles—for a very long time now—that Memoir is currently ‘in’, which is interesting because it’s been circulating for many decades. Not very ‘current’ by most standards. The point being that everyone wants to tell… Continue Reading
“Acquaint yourself with your own ignorance.”—Isaac Watts Excerpt from Book Three of the Emily Alden Trilogy— “Speaking of adventure,” she said, a lilt in her voice spilling excitement, “aren’t you just back from the Middle East, John, or was it Turkey? Wherever you were, I imagine you have some rich tales to tell of… Continue Reading
“Things have never been more like the way they are today in history.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower It’s been almost a decade since I decided to satisfy my curiosity about Emily Alden and Corey de Koningh. Emily was lost and alone, suffering from an overwhelming fever in a huge bed in a strange house not her… Continue Reading
“Keep your Confederate money even if it’s made of tin”—The Confederates (a popular 1950’s barbershop quartet) Some of you may have recently read an opinion piece in the NY Times written, surprisingly, by actor Tom Hanks. It expressed his outrage and concern over the omission of The Tulsa Massacre from the curriculum he’d been offered… Continue Reading
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” –James Baldwin There are many books out now about the subject of family—against the background of the pandemic; or in other centuries; perhaps within different cultures; or at different times of one’s life. Clearly this is a structure… Continue Reading
“What is past is prologue.”—William Shakespeare That query produces either giggles or groans from the exhausted parents in charge of navigating to grandma’s house—or anywhere else that’s taken a long time. My grandmother told me that wasn’t something her parents had to deal with, because children of her day didn’t grow up with automobiles. Carriage… Continue Reading