Magical Memoir Moments
Paying Life Forward: Memoir and Mentorship
When I was twelve years old, my family moved from a farm we rented in Manheim, Penna., to the “home place,” the farm my parents bought from my grandparents. That move, I now recognize, changed my life. I went from being a moderately engaged student trying to fit in with a social crowd to being…
After the Children Drive Away: Memoir in the Form of a Poem
This week I offer you two pictures and one poem. When the Children Leave Home The children are no longer children. They live far away. When they leave, so soon, again, I do the vacuuming. I pick up the white fluffy polar bear, take the Pat the Bunny book downstairs where it will wait…
Simplicity: A Very Short Mennonite Memoir
“The more we have, the less we own.” Meister Eckhart I grew up in a simpler age, the 1950’s. We lived on a 100-acre dairy farm. We were Mennonite. I should know all about simplicity, right? Of course, it’s not that simple. Recently someone asked for advice on how to simplify his life. In turn,…
Rhoda Janzen, First Lady and Hottest Chick of Mennonite Memoir
There’s news from Rhoda Janzen, author of Mennonite in a Little Black Dress. Her sequel memoir Does This Church Make Me Look Fat? is available for pre-order. Here’s a short blurb from USA Today to whet your appetite. Now is that a catchy title or what? The subtitle comes back to remind the reader of her…
Sailing Acts: A Memoir and an Inner Transformation
We’ve just returned. In so many ways I am home again. Back from Brooklyn, back from the world’s best job of being a Granny Nanny, back from living out of suitcases for three weeks and a studio apartment for ten months before that. Back from writing ten chapters of memoir on a dining room table….
Jean Raffa on Dream Interpretation and Memoir Writing
Author Jean Raffa has been sharing her knowledge of dreams in a series begun with this post and continuing with last week’s post about the Big dreams of childhood. Here are two more concluding questions from me and Jean’s answers. Q: If we don’t have dream interpretation training like you do, do we need an analyst…
Understanding a Childhood Dream: With Help from Jean Raffa
When I saw the picture that author Jean Raffa sent me to represent the landscape of western North Carolina, her summer home, I smiled. The picture shows a root cellar, a place that must be important to Jean as she looked for landscape to represent who she is. Synchronistically, cellars are also important to me….