Since I've become an advocate of erasing the stigma of mental illness and suicide prevention I like to host writers who have healing ideas that could help people at risk. Jennifer McGregor has been my guest before you can read her previous article here. I'm delighted to have her back. Her words make a lot of sense to me. Please join me in welcoming Jennifer to my website, Choices. Three Mood-Boosting Activities for Those Overcoming Addictions by Jennifer McGregor Many people with mental illness find themselves self-medicating. Acquiring mental health care is very difficult for a number of people thanks to the ongoing stigma against mental illness. Whether a person goes undiagnosed or simply cannot afford care, self-medication is a rampant problem among those with mental illnesses. Self-medication, unfortunately, often leads to addiction, worsened symptoms of mental illness, and suicide. Preventing suicide is a crucial component to addiction recovery. So, if you … [Read more...]
Let’s celebrate with Linda Appleman Shapiro
Linda Appleman Shapiro's memoir, She's Not Herself is celebrating its second anniversary. And it has a lot to celebrate. Just take a look at these wonderful reviews: An honest and compelling story by a brave and gifted writer. ~ Wally Lamb NY Times best-selling author of She's Come Undone, I Know This Much Is True, and many other novels. Winner of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill's Kenneth Johnson Award for the anti-stigmatization of mental illness. A story that applies to us all truthful, carefully crafted, and created with a clear-eyed affection. ~ Watts, M.D., poet, writer, musician, NPR commentator We identify with the author's sense of alienation from the first chapter and agonize with her longing for a normal life. She's Not Herself is a revelatory account of someone who grew up with a mentally ill parent and grew up to become an effective, loving mother and a successful professional healer. ~US Review of Books, Barbara Bamburger Scott I loved … [Read more...]
Journaling – the perfect sleeping potion
As a person who journals everyday I can see the benefits of doing morning pages every morning and journaling just before going to sleep. I've journaled both ways. Right now I journal in the morning. I decided to switch over from night journaling because once in a while I'd nod off while writing. You can only imagine what funny gibberish I found on my page the next morning as a result. Mari L. McCarthy, our WOW! Women on Writing blog tour guest today and author of Journaling Power, is an advocate of writing at night as a way to get a good night's sleep. By the way, she writes in the morning as well. Please welcome Mari to Choices. Sleep Tight Every Night By Mari L. McCarthy Do you have trouble getting off to sleep at night because your mind has gone into overdrive? Or do you drop off only to wake in the early hours with your head full of worries? I used to suffer with insomnia until I discovered a creative cure with absolutely no side-effects: writing therapy in the … [Read more...]
Nina Amir on creative visualization for writers
I've met Nina Amir several times and heard her speak at writers conferences, and I guarantee that you will not be disappointed in her wisdom and advice about writing that she shares in her latest book: Creative Visualization for Writers: An Interactive Guide for Bringing Your Book Ideas and Writing Career to Life. I'm pleased to showcase Nina and her book during her WOW! Women on Writing tour. Please see the link below if you'd like to participate to win a copy of Creative Visualization for Writers. About Creative Visualization for Writers: An Interactive Guide for Bringing Your Book Ideas and Writing Career to Life: To become a more creative, confident, and productive writer, you need to focus your attention, visualize your desires, set clearly defined goals, and take action toward your dreams. Let Creative Visualization for Writers be your guide on this journey of self-discovery. You'll learn how to: Evaluate your beliefs and shed self-defeating behaviors. … [Read more...]
My Name Is Wonder by Ronald Chapman
It is may pleasure to showcase another book by Ronald Chapman during his WOW!Women on Writing blog tour. Ronald's latest book, My Name Is Wonder: A Tale of Adventure, will have you thinking from the first page until well after you've closed the book. This beautifully written novel chronicles the transcendent adventures of a little goat with big dreams. Join Wonder and his wise cracking guide, the mysterious crow Mac Craack, on a journey through the scenic landscapes of the American Southwest and into the heart of a mindful presence. Along the way, you'll meet an unforgettable cast of creatures, each with an important lesson to teach. Praise for My Name Is Wonder: ¦a book for the ages, with profound truths simply stated. First there was Jonathan Livingston Seagull and then Yoda Now there is Wonder¦ - Beverly Molander, Minister and Radio Host of Activating the Power of Yes ¦an exploration of human nature and into the allegorical realm that shows us how to be wise teachers and … [Read more...]
Seventeen years ago
Tomorrow it will be seventeen years since our son Paul died by suicide. Tomorrow my husband and I will visit his grave, leave a small stone, as we do every year on his birthday and death day. Today like all days is a time to reflect. I wrote the following poem a few years after he died. It is included in my memoir Leaving the Hall Light On: A Mother's Memoir of Living with Her Son's Bipolar Disorder and Surviving His Suicide. Yes, we have survived all these years, but the grief has never gone away. I'll Always Remember I'll always remember he slept without closing his eyes all the way I'll always remember he walked fast and way ahead of us I'll always remember he had long, thick, black eyelashes surrounding clear blue eyes I'll always remember he played the piano, legs crossed at the knees, leaning way down over the keyboard I'll always remember he liked to wear second-hand clothes and didn't mind if they were ripped I'll always remember the way he stood at the pantry … [Read more...]
August small stones
Now that I'm on day 16 of the September Pebbles 2016 challenge I thought I'd post my entire list from the Awake August 2016 Small Stones challenge. According to the page guidelines post "No advertising. No selling. Just your thoughts and ideas and have fun.This page is for your small poems and thoughts, please share and enjoy each others talents. Everyone is individual and that makes this page brilliant." When the Awake August challenge was over, people in the group decided to keep posting, so the page admins changed the challenge to September Pebbles. I'll post those sometime next month. A young girl with white-pale skin and wine-red hair visited for a week. We kissed goodbye this morning. The strains of Unchained Melody bring back memories of 1955 and two besotted teenagers swaying in time on a hot August night. A long walk with a friend on a hot summer day brings a connection of compassion, understanding, and love. We can't stop talking. An orange-streaked sky … [Read more...]
Always remember
The September 11 attacks killed 2,977 people and injured more than 6,000 others, not including the 19 terrorists responsible for the attacks. These immediate deaths included 265 on the four planes, 2,606 in the World Trade Center and in the surrounding area, and 125 at the Pentagon. We must always remember! The gallery at the September 11 Memorial Museum has photos of all but 10 people killed either on September 11, 2001 or February 26, 1993 when the World Trade Center was bombed (a total of 2983). It has room for 3,000 5-by-7-inch portraits, arrayed in 250 columns and 12 rows. Credit: Ãngel Franco/The New York Times … [Read more...]
New writing and old
I've started to write about something new. I haven't a clue yet where it's going so I don't want to reveal the topic yet. I just want to let you and the world know. That's a way to keep me accountable. I can't go ahead and disband this new writing project because I've now put it out there. You all know and I know you'll keep me going. I'm also going through some poems I've written over the years. I'm looking for material to submit. I wrote the one below back in 2011 at my favorite poetry workshop at Esalen Institute in Big Sur California. Unfortunately my favorite three poets/instructors, Ellen Bass, Dorianne Laux, and Joseph Millar, aren't doing this workshop anymore, though I went to a workshop at Esalen with Joseph about a year ago. That was wonderful as well. So the theme for this poem was "changeability." We were asked to make changes from line to line, using word series, thoughts, length of line, and language. Other aspects of this theme are: anaphora - repetition of … [Read more...]
Review of Ronald Chapman’s A Killer’s Grace
I'm pleased to have read and written a review of Ronald Chapman's book A Killer's Grace in time for his WOW!Women on Writing virtual book tour. Today, September 1, is the publication of the book's second edition. As you'll read, A Killer's Grace is a wonderful work. I hope you'll all get your copy (see the links below). You won't be disappointed. *** My Review of A Killer's Grace A letter from a serial killer awaiting execution changes New Mexico reporter Kevin Pitcairn's life. His investigations into the content of the letter drag him into his own dark past, that of a never-convicted murderer and an alcoholic. His journey draws the readers of A Killer's Grace by Ronald Chapman into the doors of Alcoholics Anonymous and the close relationships Pitcairn made there, his love for Maria Elena who stays by his side even when she disagrees and fears his involvement with the serial killer's story, how walking with his dog companions in the early morning hours calms him after nightmares … [Read more...]
Regina Brett’s life lessons
My friend Linda Appleman Shapiro, author of She's Not Herself (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Dream of Things), sent these 45 lessons to me and asked me to share them with my friends. What better way than to post them here on Choices? I hope you'll read them through to the end and marvel with me at the wisdom of this beautiful and stylish 90-year-old woman, Regina Brett. Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio, said, "To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more: Life isn't fair, but it's still good. When in doubt, just take the next small step. Life is too short, enjoy it. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will. Pay off your credit cards every month. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself. Cry with someone. It's … [Read more...]
Turning grief into art
Chanel Brenner, Alexis Rhone Fancher, and I are reading our poetry tomorrow night at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Tustin, CA. Our theme is turning grief into art. Each of us has lost a son, and each of us have turned to writing as a way to deal with our grief. There is no cure for us, however, writing can be a soothing balm. If you live in the Los Angeles area, please join us tomorrow night in Tustin. … [Read more...]
Two newly published poems
I've had several poems published over the last couple of months. I wrote the first in response to one of Robert Lee Brewer's Poetic Asides Wednesday prompts. I think it's the first one of his I ever responded to. The prompt asked us to: "...write a box poem. This poem is either about a box or includes a box somewhere in the poem (or title). Don't be afraid to poem outside the box this week (sorry, I had to say it)." Thank you Editor Ted Badger for including my poem in your Lucidity Poetry Journal International (a venue for understandable verse). Things in Boxes He left a black canvas box filled with his music recordings next to his bed, the cassette tapes neatly packed in order of performance. And on his closet shelf we found a cardboard box filled with little games, cars, toys, 1984 Olympic souvenirs, and Russian buttons and buckles his uncle brought back for him. He fit these favorite things together like an intricate puzzle, before he left his body for … [Read more...]
Happy sixth anniversary
Our son and daughter-in-law were married in our garden six years ago today. That is significant not only as a celebration of their love for each other, but that they wanted to get married at the sight where my son's brother, our son Paul, took is life in 1999. For a long time Ben didn't want to be here, but that all changed on his wedding day. The wedding was beautiful and the event was not tarnished by unhappy memories. My memoir Leaving the Hall Light On was published less than a year later. It is, as the subtitle says, A Mother's Memoir of Living with Her Son's Bipolar Disorder and Surviving His Suicide. Although the story is sad, the memoir is also about survival. That said, I decided to end the book with an Epilogue about the Wedding in the Garden, on a very upbeat note. Here is the poem that ended the Epilogue. I hope you'll read the memoir and entire epilogue as well. And if you have read Leaving the Hall Light On, please leave a review here. Five star reviews help … [Read more...]
Memoir or fiction? That is the question!
David W. Berner, my WOW! Women on Writing guest today, and I have something in common. After writing memoir we both turned to fiction stretching ourselves, as David says, as writers. We both took a true story, settings, and characters and made up things let our imagination have its way with us to enhance the story's effect. My fiction book though not ready to be published yet takes off in a whole new direction from the true facts. My family members would definitely know the people and places I write about, and might even have a problem with the way my fictionalized version of our family history turns out. Well, I'll deal with that when the time comes. I applaud David for using his wonderful memoir, reporting, and teaching skills to become a successful fiction writer. His first fiction work: Night Radio: A Love Story, has already received rave reviews. Thank you, David, for being here at Choices today and telling us about your journey into fiction writing a story I very much … [Read more...]
Writing small stones teaches focus and brevity
I joined the Awake August 2016 challenge to write small stones every day in August. I did the same challenge a few years ago (in January 2011 and 2012) and found the results the same. Writing brief poems, essays, descriptions, thoughts, and ideas are a worthwhile challenge. It has taught me to focus on a single thing and write briefly about it. Like the challenge creators, Kaspalita and Satya Robyn, say, it is a mindfulness writing booster. For more information about them and their work, visit their website, Writing Our Way Home: Engage with the world through mindful writing. So whether my first five days of small stones are what Kaspalita and Satya had in mind, here they are. What do you think? My August Small Stones A young girl with white-pale skin and wine-red hair visited for a week. We kissed goodbye this morning. The strains of Unchained Melody bring back memories of 1955 and two besotted teenagers swaying in time on a hot August night. A long walk … [Read more...]
Not a lot of writing going on now
For the last couple of weeks I've been really caught up in the election. I couldn't take my eyes and ears off of the conventions, nor can I stop reading about it in the newspapers and online. I'm also glued to the news shows every evening. Therefore not a lot of writing is going on in my life right now. In the last election I refused to post anything either here or any of my other social media networks about politics or my views about politics. I didn't want to offend any of my memoir customers who had different political views than mine. This election is too crucial for me to keep silent. And already I'm sure you can tell I'm with Hillary. There is no way I would vote for a person like Donald Trump. But this is not to say I feel she is the lesser of two evils. I've felt all along that she has the most experience for the job of president of the United States, and she has respectful relationships worldwide that she can call upon when needed in our dealings with … [Read more...]
The suicide risk is high for ages 10 to 24
Since our son Paul's death by suicide as a result of his bipolar disease in 1999, I have made it my mission to help erase the stigma of mental illness and work hard toward preventing suicide. I applaud Jennifer McGregor's work to help teenagers who are suicidal. I certainly wish I had had her advice when my son was struggling with his mania and depression. Thank you very much, Jennifer, for writing this piece for Choices. Your words are very helpful. How To Help A Teenager Who Is Suicidal by Jennifer McGregor Photo via Pixabay by Giesje Death by suicide is a serious problem in America, and it doesn't affect one particular age group. In fact, young people ages 10-24 are highly at risk, as suicide is the third leading cause of death. The reasons vary, as do the solutions, so it's important to know what the warning signs are and how to address them. Because the teen years can be so full of emotion and distress especially where school and friends are concerned it's … [Read more...]
A week in New York City
We walk amidst the crowds, some barreling into us on our side of the sidewalk as we tally 43 miles for the week. We push into the subway cars, careful not to get stuck in the sliding doors as we crush into others standing in the aisles. Sweat pours down our faces and soaks our backs. We wait in long lines for museum tickets to see the first masterpiece Rembrandt ever painted at age twenty-three, Manus X Machina fashions, Diane Arbus photography, Degas charcoal and pastel drawings, Pergamon Greek and Roman artifacts, Turner's whaling landscapes, and the constructionist Bauhaus artist and writer, Maholy-Nagy. Culture abounds even at night. How can a New York experience not include theater? One play is terrific: A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. The other, The Humans, not so much. And we eat and eat and eat one place better than the other: Chazz Palminteri's Ristorante Italiano, Locanda Verde on Greenwich Street, Lusardi's with dear friends, MOMA's … [Read more...]
