November is #NationalMemoirWritingMonth
Each time I sit down to write a memoir essay or work on my book I have to fight off the Critic Dragon screaming, “Who cares about your piddly life?” If you are a memoir writer, or considering writing a memoir, you may have the same Critic Dragon breathing fire at your keyboard.
Guess what? Even though your life experience may seem unique, many others are going through similar experiences and challenges. Your perspective just may help them get through it.
“But there are already so many books about (abuse, divorce, trauma, recovery—whatever).”
Remember this: No one has written about the experience the way you will. James Jones, Norman Mailer, Tim O’Brien—and scores of others have written about war, and no two books are alike.… Read more
So meaningful to me
You know, it’s hard to figure out what to share here, and I know self promotion is rampant and I am as tired of it as you are, but sometimes I get emails from people who have found my book, #Replacement Child, and I am so moved I want to tell you all about it. Just this morning, I got this email from a woman in Ireland who found my book referenced online. This kind of email is why I wrote the book, and why I am glad I did.
Hi judy,
I have just ordered your book and can’t wait to read it.… Read more
Read my new story in 34th Parallel Magazine
Read my new story, Legacy, at 34th Parallel Magazine’s site. You can also order the print copy on the their website. It’s a pretty cool pub with some outstanding writers. This is my first published piece of fiction, so I am pretty pumped! Thanks 34th Parallel!
Thanks for reading!
OMG! #Replacement Child is NY Times Best Seller!
Just heard that Replacement Child is a NY Times Best Seller! Thank you Seal Press! Thank you anyone who has read Replacement Child. Of course, thank you Al, Florence, Linda and Donna.#NYTimesBestseller @SealPress
When a child dies and another is born: response to Yahoo article
Recently, I was interviewed following the news that a family just welcomed a new child into their family after tragically losing their six-year-old in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting two years ago. You can see the article here: https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/when-a-child-dies-and-another-is-born-103051055797.html.
The reporter asked me some relevant questions about my own experience, being born after a sibling has died, that was the topic of my memoir, Replacement Child. It was also in relation to a new book coming out in the Spring of 2015, Replacement Children: Personal Journeys, co-written by Dr. Abigail Brenner, a San Francisco Psychiatrist, and Rita Battat Silverman.… Read more
Reaction to the 3-year-old girl in Miss., asked to leave restaurant because of scars
The story this morning about the three-year-old girl who was asked to leave a KFC restaurant in Jackson, Miss. by an employee there who said her scars were disturbing customers, gave me a chill and brought back sharp memories of my sister.
Her grandmother had stopped there, on the way home from the hospital, to get her mashed potatoes because she had trouble swallowing after surviving an attack by three pit bulls. Even though that incident is horrendous, and my heart goes out to this little girl for her physical suffering, it is the action of the restaurant employee that is most disturbing to me.… Read more
Dad: Re-Visited on #Father’s Day
I can see my dad bent over his watchmaker’s bench, jeweler’s monocle in his right eye, squinting the left shut while he scrutinized a diamond. Dad didn’t have much hair from the time I could remember, but in this crouch there was always one wayward black-gray strand dangling in front of the monocle.
He proudly displayed his framed Gemologist certificate behind the diamond showcase in his small shop in Elizabeth, New Jersey. As a kid, I could never figure out why that piece of paper, earned after a short course in identifying the quality of diamonds and other gems, meant so much to him.… Read more
Off to the #IPPY!
It is actually surreal. Last year at this time I was recovering from major surgery and reading the news of books being awarded the IPPY in New York City just prior to the Book Expo. My book had just come out, and I had missed some opportunities to promote it because of illness. Winning an award was the farthest thing from my mind. But, how cool would it be to be with all those writers in a room celebrating an accomplishment like that?
I can’t help thinking back to when I was deep in the quagmire of finding my way through writing Replacement Child.… Read more