From My Window
Art and Decorating
I’m the new chair of the Charter House Art and Decorating Committee. The last inventory of artwork was taken in 2019. To determine the artwork on display now and artwork in storage, we are updating our inventory list, a detailed and necessary task. I’m grateful for the residents who serve on this committee and doubly grateful for their ideas. The committee’s purpose is to display meaningful artwork in public areas, document the Charter House collection, and protect the artwork. Thank-you letters are sent to all residents who donate artwork to Charter House.
Photo by Kathy Meyer, RN.
Great Grandsons
Because my great grandsons live in Michigan, I don’t get to see them very often. However, I get to see them in photos and each photo is a delight. Here’s my oldest great grandson, Everett, on his bike, and brother Judah holding a basket of cherries. What a duo—two little guys with boundless energy, and a wondrous view of the world.
Photos by Haley Earley.
Zumbro Valley Medical Society Alliance
Zumbro Valley Medical Society Alliance (ZVMSA) made my book, Grief Doodling: Bringing Back Your Smiles, its outreach health project for 2022 and 2023. We have given free books to all Rochester, MN public school counselors and social workers, public health nurses, and several grief support groups. This year we are contacting private schools in the area. As part of the outreach program, I give free doodling workshops. We will continue to donate free books to schools.
Grief Doodling: Bringing Back Your Smiles
Though I originally wrote and illustrated Grief Doodling for teens, grief experts and readers are saying it’s for kids and adults. Grief takes many forms, including sadness when a pet dies and sadness when a dear friend moves away. Look for this award-winning book on Amazon or your favorite bookseller. WriteLife Publishing offers discounts on bulk orders of Grief Doodling and my other books.
Reviews
Winning: A Story of Grief and Renewal
Reading this was like reading my life, my symptoms and things that have happened to me. I lost my husband in 2019 and my mum in 2021. Grief brain, forgetfulness, struggling to get through days, wondering how to get through days, hearing the ‘you’re so strong’ platitudes when all you want to do is yell about how people don’t see you crying into your pillow.
Grief is a tough path to walk. Friends and family very often think that you will ‘move on’ and do not understand that grief is not fixable. You’ll always have the pain of that person. The gap where they stood with you. This book fills the gap in that it explains everything so well. Not from a ‘textbook management to grief’ but from a real life ‘here’s what happened to me’ approach. Thank you for your honesty, integrity and for the rawness of the read. This subject needed it. My recommendation: five stars. ~ Joanne, Goodeads Reviewer.
Book Business
Winning Book Launch
Winning: A Story of Grief and Renewal will be officially released on September 19th. Terri Leidich, owner/publisher of WriteLife, thinks it’s the best book I’ve written. On October 3rd I’m having a book launch for Winning at Charter House Retirement Living in Rochester, MN. The celebration will be in Edwards Hall and what a celebration it will be! Tangy lemon cake, punch, and lots of door prizes. Winning contains many references to Charter House and celebrating its release with residents is my way of saying thank you.
Forthcoming Book
My 46th book, Grief in Your Words: How Writing Helps You Heal, is going through production now and will be released on March 12th, 2024. Feel like you’re stuck in grief? Write your way out by following the steps in this concise, easy-to-use book. Grief in Your Words contains tips on your thinking place, writing place, how wto write, and resources to boost your spirits. Grief in Your Words is a thoughtful gift for a bereaved friend, available for pre-order on Amazon.
Quote of the Month
“As you read and reread, the book of course participates in the creation of you, your thoughts and feelings, the size and temper of your soul”