Happy Holidays from Sue Fagalde Lick
What's New with Sue?
I honestly don't have much to report. Sadie's death, my own sickness in early November, our annual trek to California for Thanksgiving and the mega-storm that started the month have all put me so far behind, I'm scrambling to catch up. I'm trying to write and play music and wondering when I'll decorate the house for the holidays, buy, wrap and send Christmas gifts, and prepare the Christmas cards. Shoot, I'm lucky to find time to buy groceries.
But I am still working hard on my childless-woman book, and, as you can see below, I'm reading quite a bit. My own books are for sale on my Books+ page (great Christmas presents!) and I'm available for coaching, critiquing and editing at very reasonable rates. My Scriptorium column on backing up your work is online now and my first Freelancing for Newspapers challenge will appear in the Writers on the Rise Newsletter next month. I also keep adding to my blogs. Come join the discussions at the Freelancing for Newspapers and Childless by Marriage blogs.
In the freelance biz, sometimes you have a lot of things pending but big cash-poor gaps in-between. That's when the real writer inside has to just keep going. So I'm writing a lot, and it will bear fruit eventually. However, if you're thinking about Christmas gifts, send cash or Amazon.com gift certificates. Please don't send candy or chocolate-covered fruit and nuts. We still have some left over from last Christmas!
I was going to drum up something clever for this newsletter, but we'll all too busy right now, so I'll keep it short.
Writing Events on the Coast
The Nye Beach Writers Series is taking a break this month, but the coast chapter of Willamette Writers met Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. at the Newport Library for a holiday potluck, brag session, and open mike. Attendance was low, due to the storm, but those of us who were there had a good time eating pizza, talking about our various projects, and enjoying a little gossip. As for conducting any serious business,we'll have to wait until next year when we can get enough people back to the library. Things start Jan. 15 with the William Stafford Memorial Reading by Marianne Kelczak. Then we switch to the first Tuesdays of the month with a terrific lineup of speakers and workshops. If you have questions about the group, contact me at suelick@casco.net or Dorothy Mack, dmack@newportnet.com.
Book Report
Dancing with Rose by Lauren Kessler, Viking, 2007. Lauren Kessler, whose mother died of Alzheimer's, struggled to understand what happened to the vibrant woman who raised her. Author of five creative nonfiction books and director of the graduate program in literary nonfiction at the University of Oregon, she slipped off her professorial garb and became a minimum wage resident assistant at a local Alzheimer's facility. Despite days of hard, depressing and often stomach-churning work, she found the human beings still alive inside the shuffling confused residents. In some ways they were freed by their disease. Beautifully written and filled with characters we grow to love, Dancing with Rose is a must, even if you are lucky enough not to know anyone with Alzheimer's Disease.
Heartsick by Chelsea Cain, St. Martin's Minotaur, 2007. Cain writes a sweet, innocent column for the Oregonian newspaper, but wow, this is not a sweet and innocent book. This thriller could well be shelved with the Stephen King novels. We first meet detective Archie Sheridan, who survived kidnapping and torture by Gretchen Lowell, the now-imprisoned Beauty Killer, as he comes back to work and starts chasing another serial killer. But he, too, is imprisoned by the damage Lowell did to his mind and body, and we wonder throughout when he's going to fall apart. In comes Susan Ward, a newspaper reporter with pink hair and her own chequered history, to do a series of in-depth stories on Archie and the After-School Strangler. The book gave me nightmares, but the story lured me on with its delicious twists and flawed characters who touched my heart. Cain, who set her story in her hometown of Portland, OR is a hell of a good writer. Just don't read this at bedtime.
Coping with Sorrow on the Loss of Your Pet by Moira Anderson Allen, Second edition, Morris Publishing, 2004. This is a hard book to read, especially when you know you are going to lose a beloved pet soon, but it is very useful. Everything about it is kind and understanding, from the abstract cover that does not feature a happy dog or cat to the chapters loaded with helpful advice about all those tough topics we'd rather not think about: saying goodbye, euthanasia, what to do with the pet's remains, deciding whether to get another pet, providing for pet care in case you die or become disabled, etc. We don't want to think about these things, but sometimes we need to know. Allen, who is also the publisher of Writing-world.com, has a whole other specialty based at Pet-loss.net. A writer and pet lover with a master's degree in counseling, Allen has produced a reference every pet owner should keep around, just in case. It has been a big help to us in dealing with the loss of our sweet Sadie.
Marriage, a History by Stephanie Coontz, Viking Penguin, 2005. Coontz, director of Research and Public Education at the Council on Contemporary Families and a professor of history and family studies at Evergreen State College in Washington, has written an extensive history on marriage. She begins back in the earliest recorded history, when marriage was more of a combining of families for shared work and profit, and continues all the way into the 21st century, when couples marry for love and form a separate unit from the rest of their families. In this century, she also sees marriage fading as an institution, with many people cohabiting or deciding not to marry at all. This is a scholarly work, heavily researched, yet reasonably easy to read. I was seeking information on childlessness, but Coontz kept the focus on marriage. Things changed tremendously in the 1960s and '70s with the advent of birth control, feminism, and far more women entering the workplace, but that has been such a small sliver of time if you look at the big picture. I was surprised to find women were using birth control methods and getting legal abortions early in the 20th century. Then a wave of conservatism put these things into the closet for a few decades. I had planned to just skim this book, but ended up reading it all because it was so interesting. One disappointment: no mention of religion and its role in marriage. This is a heavy book but loaded with information.
Make the Connection by Bob Greene and Oprah Winfrey, Hyperion, 1996. I know, this was news 11 years ago, and 20 new diet philosophies have come out since then, but it was $2 at the secondhand store. This book, based on Greene's 10 steps to a better body, has a lot of good information. I don't know if I'm ready to embrace eight-mile runs at 5 a.m. or to give up every pleasure-giving food, but I can put some of it to use, such as drinking more water, not eating at night, eating less fat, and exercising more. It's a very attractive book, well written, with introductions by Oprah to each section, followed by the lesson from Bob, and lots of great color pictures of Ms. Oprah. I think it's still a good book, and what a bargain. These guys probably don't need the royalties anyway.
Upcoming book alert: I just started reading Clown Girl by Monica Drake, and it's fabulous. Put that on the list, too. Full report next month.
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That's all for now. I'm afraid I know of more recent deaths than birthdays this month. To all those mourning the loss of a loved one, you have my sympathy and my prayers. Know that they are still with you in spirit, and that the pain gets easier to bear.
Happy birthday to Lori Parker, who moved all the way to New Zealand. Let us know how they celebrate the holidays there, okay?
To everyone, may your holidays be full of peace, love, hope and light.
Sue
All contents copyright 2007 Sue Fagalde Lick
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Newsletter archives
Note: at the end of the year, I'm going to take the 2003-2005 newsletters offline, but I will provide free PDF copies on request.
