I apologize for the scarcity of my blog posts lately. I've gotten very involved in a consulting job over at the aerospace company I used to work for and that has taken up most of my energy. And the problem is, I don't see an end of the work in sight. Although I don't want to go on a complete vacation from blogging, I feel I have to cut back. I've already done that to my small stones writing regime, my work on my novel, and my attendance at writing group meetings. Unfortunately, when I accept a consulting job, most everything else suffers. However, some interesting things have happened as well. I belong to a wonderful group called South Bay Cares that was founded as a source of education and to be an arbiter of positive action so that members can be the change that we want to see in the world. Our motto is: Educate. Empower. Engage. And a couple of weeks ago we hosted an event at our local independent bookstore: Pages: a bookstore with the cinematographer and two of the … [Read more...]
Body image problems? Read Destiny Allison’s memoir
I'm excited. I'm one of the chosen few to participate in a pre-launch blog tour to introduce my readers to Destiny Allison. Her memoir, The Romance Diet: Body Image and the Wars We Wage On Ourselves, is her fourth book and due for release in January 2016. This is my chance to publicize this memoir right at the beginning because I know Allison is gearing up for some big publicity, which will include virtual tours and exposure in some of the leading print magazines. You have a chance to get in right at the beginning! You can say, you read all about it on Choices first. Also, Allison has written a post especially for us, which she tied into an earlier post here about Margaret Atwood's brilliant novel, The Handmaid's Tale. Questioning the Behaviors We Deem Acceptable By Destiny Allison Thanks for having me on your blog today, Madeline. I enjoyed your post about The Handmaid's Tale. It is one of my all time favorite books and first introduced me to the plight of women past and … [Read more...]
I love The Handmaid’s Tale
I'm reading Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, and I can't even wait to finish it to praise it. Atwood's imagination and writing are enthralling. She makes me want to study with her to learn how she does it. This is a book about an imagined time, yet the story is so believable how a woman who once had a job, money, a husband, and a child now is no longer even allowed to read. Her ovaries are her only redeeming feature. She now must lie with the Commander and his wife once a month, hopefully to give them the baby she conceives. Atwood writes: But isn't this everyone's wet dream, two women at once? They used to say that. Exciting, they used to say. The Handmaid is the narrator. In a particularly beautiful passage she discusses time: There's time to spare. This is one of the things I wasn't prepared for the amount of unfilled time, the long parentheses of nothing. Time as white sound. If only I could embroider. Weave, knit, something to do with my hands. I want a … [Read more...]
