Magical Memoir Moments
Vacation: A Mini-Memoir
I grew up on a farm where the term “vacation” had absolutely no meaning. We did not load up the five kids into the car and take off for the Pacific. In fact, though we were only 75 miles from the Atlantic, we never went to see that, either. The highlight of my summers as…
Spiritual Autobiography Workshop II
Yesterday I led a second workshop on spiritual autobiography at my church. Most of the people who attended the first one came back, and about ten new folks showed up also. The big table was full! We shared a meal together, recalling rituals from our childhoods–mealtime prayers both serious and comical, night-time prayers. We talked…
Conversations with Four Wise Women Authors
I traveled to California for the Fetzer Institute to visit with board members, meet with a colleague at the Skoll Foundation, and attend a fundraiser for Youth for Environmental Sanity (YES!), the Purpose Prize Award ceremonies/ Encore Careers Summit. As snow was flying in Kalamazoo, I was watching the sun rise over the bay in…
Unreliable Truth: On Memoir and Memory by Maureen Murdock
One of the wise women I am honored to have in my life, Angeles Arrien, recommended this book to me. I found the book thoughtful and provocative, a wonderful distillation of many years of reflection both on the author’s personal story but also on the process of living, reflecting, writing, and transforming. Reading this book,…
A Second Workshop on Spiritual Autobiography
Tomorrow I lead a small group of colleagues in a workshop much like the one I taught at my church several months ago. I will again use the Marilyn Chandler McEntyre’s essay published in Weavings. But this time I will also talk a little about Tristine Rainer’s book,Your Life as Story, which I am enjoying…
Eat, Pray, Love–A Spiritual Memoir for Thanksgiving?
My husband Stuart and I have just worked together to make two pumpkin pies, two apple pies, and broccoli, curry cheese soup. We are waiting for our daughter Kate and her boyfriend Nik to arrive from Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving weekend. It seems fitting–maybe it was all that cooking–that this would be the night to write…
Memoir(and): Should You Subscribe?
I seldom read every article in a magazine that comes to my house. Without time for hours of reading every day, I do a lot of skimming instead of deep reading. I wish it were not so. However, with a long trip ahead and a little determination due to having chosen to make the new…
Memoir Joke–From Bill Maher
“Couple of problems [for Bush] . He hasn’t been offered as much money as he thinks he deserves for his memoirs, and when they asked him to write an autobiography, he said, ‘I don’t really know that much about cars.’” -Bill Maher
Willa Cather: A Pictorial Memoir
Since Willa Cather is one of my favorite writers, it will not surprise anyone who knows me well that one of my most beloved books is Willa Cather: A Pictorial Memoir. The book was published 35 years ago and is still in print. Bernice Slote, Cather scholar from the University of Nebraska, wrote the text,…