From My Window
I was honored to have my latest book, Winning, featured on the Rave Reviews Book Club program, “Raters Not Haters.” The Zoom program aired on Saturday, January 27th. Co-hosts Pat Garcia and John Podlaski read their thoughtful reviews. Two things stood out for John—the facts about anticipatory grief and Grief Brain, also called Widow’s Brain.
After the co-hosts read their reviews, I added some personal comments. “You need a few laughs in a book like this,” I said, “so I added funny stories to Winning.” I told the story about falling into an open dishwasher (I didn’t see it) while holding a full basket of laundry, a sign of caregiver fatigue.
John couldn’t believe his eyes. “Hey,” I quipped, “it takes special talent and circumstances to fall into a dishwasher.”
John summarized Winning as “beautiful, inspiring work.” Both co-hosts gave the book five-star reviews. Thanks to John, Pat, and the Rave Reviews Book Club for their support. I’m proud to be a lifetime member of this amazing organization.
Serving as Chair of the Charter House Arts and Decorating Committee keeps me busy, and I enjoy it immensely. I’m using an approach called Participating Art to connect residents to the committee. With this approach, you create art or contribute to it financially or get involved in some way. The February lobby exhibit is called “Timekeeping,” a topic with broad appeal. Twenty residents are exhibiting their clocks, and the exhibit is drawing lots of viewers.
Reviews
Grief in Your Words will be released on March 12th and has received positive advance reviews. Here’s an excerpt from the book.
You are worthy of self-care. Grief in Your Words is a form of self-care, a book you can write in to guide you through the grief maze, emerge from it, and live the new life that’s waiting for you.
To do this you need to tell your grief story, a story as unique as you are. Your story is yours alone, an agonizing, confusing, stressful story. You may feel like you’ve lost control over life. And maybe you have. But a lack of control is temporary and can be regained. This book is your personal writing plan, one designed just for you. The plan has six steps that move from ideas to action. As your words accumulate, you may see a glimmer of hope. . . Many positive things can result from writing.
Book Business
Check out my award-winning book, Grief Doodling: Bringing Back Your Smiles. WriteLife publishing asked me to create a doodle for every page. After I finished the doodles, they were too precise, so I threw them out and began again. The next set of doodles was better, with crooked, wonky, lines. The Rochester Post Bulletin published an article about my doodles. The above photo shows me reading the article.
Photo by Kathy Meyer, RN.
Creating art in my studio, which is light and bright, makes me happy. The photo shows a corner of my studio. Every wall is covered with doodle art and that makes me even happier.
Photo of my studio by Kathy Meyer, RN
Quote of the Month
“Love is Light, that enlightens those who give and receive it . . . Each person has in them a core made up of immense energy and love just waiting to be shared with the world. ”