“My grandfather always said that living is like licking honey off a thorn.” ― Louis Adamic GRANDFATHERS — We don’t write much about them, or at least I don’t see much about them in the stories I read. Why is that? Do they not take up much space in our lives? […]
I AM PLEASED AND HONORED to introduce Sara Etgen-Baker. I met Sara virtually when she submitted her work for inclusion in the anthology, Times They Were A-Changing: Women Remember the 60s and 70s. Since then, Sara has been a regular reader of and commenter on Writing Through Life, and we […]
“Everything comes out in the wash.” — Grandma Kreiss GRANDPARENTS are an important part of the extended family, often having a direct role in caring for and nurturing children. Grandmothers, in particular, can have an influential place in the family, helping out with childcare when Mom is sick or taking […]
“They say that no matter how old you become, when you are with your siblings, you revert back to childhood.” ― Karen White, The Memory of Water EVERY FAMILY IS UNIQUE. I grew up in a fairly large one, with five active, rowdy brothers. I was the only girl, born smack dab […]
“Modern families are complicated things. Siblings, half siblings, stepparents, stepcousins, what have you. You can’t pick who you’re born to, that’s for sure.” ― Cherie Priest DID YOU GROW UP WITH ONE OR MORE STEPPARENTS? According to the *Pew Research Foundation, as of 2011 more than four in ten American adults […]
“I should no longer define myself as the son of a father who couldn’t or hasn’t or wouldn’t or wasn’t.” ― Cameron Conaway ————— JUST AS MOTHERS have been stereotyped and idealized so have fathers. Movies and TV programs have always displayed some core ideas of what we think fathers are all […]
FATHERS ARE IMPORTANT. This fact has become increasingly apparent to me as I work on my next memoir and reflect deeply on my life. In my case, the loss of my father’s presence to divorce at an early age greatly influenced me: my beliefs about people, relationships with boys and […]
CONFESSION TIME. This week, I had planned to write about a topic that stymies many memoir writers — how to write about family members. When you write about your life, you will, at some point, wonder how much to include about your family members. In order to tell your story, you may […]
AROUND THE WORLD, December is a month full of holidays. Whether you celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah, the Solstice, Rohatsu, Mawlid el-Nabi, Kwanzaa, or another holiday I have not named, you most likely follow rituals and traditions handed down to you by your ancestors or religion. Perhaps you have created traditions […]
WHEN YOU SET OFF TO WRITE ABOUT YOUR LIFE, you will end up, at some point, wonder how much to include about your family members. Especially if you’re revealing family secrets, which memoirs tend to do. Even when journaling about family, you may worry that family members will some day […]
The approach of Fathers’ Day, heralded by ads for colorful shirts, silk ties, barbecues, and heavy duty tools, makes me think about all the fathers I know and their importance to their children. My own fathers (I had two: one biological, and one the man my mother was married to), […]
Imagine that you’re standing on the side of a highway and you suddenly notice a truck bearing down on your beloved dog and another person, who both happen to be crossing the road at the same time. You can only save one. Which do you choose, the human or the dog? […]
