I’m doing what I said I would never do. Rewrite my book. I completed my manuscript late last year, sent it out to 20 small presses and one agent. While I have been waiting for the results to trickle in—those returned so far have been rejections—I’ve been troubled by a lingering discomfort that I have…… Continue reading Rewriting the Book
Category: Memoir
PRIMARY CARE PROVIDER: MD OR NP?
My husband and I moved to Raleigh four months ago. Yesterday, I went to the Farmers Market for the first time. It had opened just the week before. It was more eclectic than I imagined. Besides spring onions, sweet potatoes, a bunch of radishes, strawberries and a baguette from the stand of a local French…… Continue reading PRIMARY CARE PROVIDER: MD OR NP?
CANDICE BERGEN, MURPHY BROWN AND ME
On the front of The Arts section of the New York Times this past week was a picture of Candice Bergen. Older (aren’t we all?) but still lovely even carrying thirty extra pounds. Making no excuses for the weight gain, she says, “I live to eat.” (I can relate to that.) She had written a…… Continue reading CANDICE BERGEN, MURPHY BROWN AND ME
IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE MUCH
Last Saturday, toward the end of a daylong workshop, Carol Henderson, our leader, gave the last prompt. Where is home? However, knowing we only had a few minutes left, I believe we seven women wanted to share our appreciation with Carol, and with Mamie Potter who hosted the event, before we left. That prompt fell…… Continue reading IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE MUCH
PERSISTENCE
In 2014, I finished my memoir. In spite of myself, I persisted and finished. Ten years ago, I left a full time nurse practitioner job and began to write in earnest. The book I just birthed is not the one I started then. It has been configured many times: moving chapters, changing tenses from past…… Continue reading PERSISTENCE
A NEW BEGINNING
I sit in a one-bedroom furnished unit on the 2nd floor of an immense apartment complex nestled in a shopping mall in northern Raleigh while writing this post. Two weeks ago we moved out of our house in Chapel Hill after 14 years. A cold heavy rain began to fall as we pulled the door…… Continue reading A NEW BEGINNING
MY NURSING CAP
I have finally cleaned out the attic in preparation for a move. My speed at tackling this chore is directly related to what “treasures” I find. Sometimes I need to take time to look over the objects, reminisce and then struggle whether they get packed or pitched. A few days ago I found two of…… Continue reading MY NURSING CAP
PREPARING FOR REJECTION: TAKE TWO
Writers in the Storm SEPTEMBER 22ND, 2014 When Rejection is Necessary, or I Reject All the Fear By Guest Blogger Heather Webb The most detested word in the publishing industry, perhaps even in the English language (we writers might argue) is rejection. Even saying it aloud gives you a nasty swirling in your stomach. Whether…… Continue reading PREPARING FOR REJECTION: TAKE TWO
PREPARING FOR REJECTION
My book is done. Okay, so I don’t have a title—I have at least ten that are in the running—but none of them seem quite right. In spite of that, I’m crafting a query letter to send off to agents, small presses and to anyone or anyplace else that might publish my book. Besides sweating…… Continue reading PREPARING FOR REJECTION
WHAT I LEARNED
I am writing my memoir because of what I learned when I ran a clinic on the tenth floor of a Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) high-rise twenty years ago. All my patients were over sixty years of age. I was an inexperienced nurse practitioner and new to working with older people. I learned that…… Continue reading WHAT I LEARNED
Getting Older: Charting the Uncharted 