Magical Memoir Moments
Mini-Memoir: What I Learned from Students in Haiti and the Ivory Coast (on SST)
The question comes to me from a blogger in Orange County, CA, who has a following in her own blog from ex-patriots all over the world. What did you learn from your students in Haiti and in the Ivory Coast? First of all, you need to know about the Goshen College Study-Service Term (SST). This…
Memoir Clusters: A Guest Blog Post
Today’s guest blogger is writer and editor Lanie Tankard who is a long-time friend. My husband Stuart enjoys taking credit for Lanie’s romance and marriage to Jim Tankard, a professor of journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, because Stuart suggested that Lanie contact Jim about a summer program–back in 1972. This picture of…
Mini-Memoir: How Long Have I Been Teaching Memoir?
How long have I been teaching memoir writing? On its face, the answer is, “not very,” but I can also truthfully say “about 40 years.” How can both be true? The recent teaching comes in the form of workshops I have blogged about previously– three sessions at the Fetzer Institute and two about workshops given…
The Frugal Traveler: A Mini-Memoir
The pattern started on our honeymoon, 1969, 40 years ago. Stuart had $600 in his checking account when we got married. I spent all the money I earned that summer– the summer of my 21st birthday, the summer of Woodstock and the moon landing, and the summer of our wedding– on the wedding dress, flowers,…
This American Life: What Has Kept You Together?
If the 21st century is the memoir century, then the job of this blog is to catalogue, comment, and critique. In the next weeks, you can expect to see more posts about the uses of memoir in the media world, whether that world is “mainstream,” “social media,” book publishing, online publishing, radio, television, film or…
The Latest Memoir Controversy: Angel at the Fence
“Read all about it!,” the newsboys could be saying, if there were newsboys today. “Another memoir bites the dust!” “Oprah decides to vet all future memoirists with truth serum!” Of course, there is brand new president, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and an economic meltdown to report on, too, but, hey, memoir dishes up conflict…
Helen Alderfer, Poet, Mother, Wise Woman, Role Model
My husband Stuart gave me a book for Christmas I did not know existed–a pleasant surprise indeed. Helen Alderfer, an early woman leader in the Mennonite Church and someone I have long admired, has published a book in her 90th year. I have always loved reading about people who keep achieving their dreams well into…
Small Things with Love: A Mini-Memoir
What makes us happy? Is it winning the lottery or getting a surprise million-dollar legacy? In our current economy, such windfalls might sound even better than usual. I haven’t seen Slumdog Millionaire (see trailer here) yet, but I gather that such a fantasy becomes reality in that film. Once I see the film, I will…
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…
Max DePree, Leader, Mentor, Memoirist
A few weeks ago, my husband Stuart and I traveled to the “west coast” of Michigan, first to Saugatuck, where we had a lovely visit on a rainy day to the Wickwood Inn, and then to Holland, where Stuart explored the downtown and I visited Max DePree, the man who has been my mentor for…