Banner advertising my Podcast Debut Yesterday was the day! I made my podcast debut on the Lead Different! Podcast. In the weeks since the podcast was recorded, I went from a super high to an incredible amount of self-doubt. Imposter syndrome stalks all of us, and I am especially vulnerable when I step out of my comfort zone. A few friends and my daughter and son-in-law came to the house to watch with me. I wasn't embarrassed by anything I said or did, and the feedback in

Screen shot of the spam folder for my author email Every day I get twenty or thirty emails about one or all of my books. Most of them end up in my spam folder, because that is what they are. The spammers often use real names and publishing companies, but are just misrepresenting themselves. If I ever got a genuine solicitation or complimentary email, unless it is from someone I know, I will regard it as spam. All that being said, sometimes I read the emails. Even knowing

Melanie at 4, in sister Fran's graduation gown and morterboard This day is always emotional - my one and only baby's birthday. Because I was so young when Melanie was born, we really have grown up together in so many ways. In the dark times, she is always the light. In the happy times, she amplifies the joy. I had no idea how to be a parent when she was born, and I made more mistakes than I can count or that I want to remember. And still, she grew into an amazing person. Sm

Cover of Sowing Freedom, Reaping Joy As I shared when I started posting again, I had been struggling for a while. As I said, the grief journey is not linear, and that is a big part of my silence. But there is more. The world is very dark right now. We are experiencing a rise in authoritarianism, there are multiple wars, there is genocide, there is an erosion of the rule of law in the United States, and there seems to be tremendous apathy towards all of that from far too m

Screenshot of my current work in progress Well, the good news has all been shared, so I guess it is time to talk about real life. Still waiting on the copyright on Book 11, Blessed in our Brokenness, and I have no idea how long it will take, so I don't want to do too much promotion too early. I searched around my brain for options to write about, and decided to write about my work in progress, Book 12, which I have no idea what to title at this point in time. On the home pag

Lead Different Podcast Announcement Through my membership in Catholic Owned, I have met a host of wonderful people. One of them is Dan Dominguez, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Why Not Leadership. Dan invited me to participate in the Why Not Leadership podcast. The session was recorded on September 21, and will broadcast October 23. To say I was nervous is an understatement. But Dan is a skilled interviewer, and put me immediately at ease. I think the recording w

Screen shot of registration page for Catholic Owned Book Club Last year, I joined an association of Catholic Business Owners called Catholic Owned. According to Google, Catholic Owned is a digital marketplace and directory platform that connects consumers with verified Catholic-owned and Catholic-aligned businesses, makers, and service providers. It is so much more than that. It is a community of believers, it is a social network, it is a support group, and it has been for

Proof copy of Blessed in our Brokenness Book Eleven is finished! Written, edited, proofread, alpha reader reviewed, cover completed. Just waiting on copyright to come through. This book challenged me in so many ways - I don't really understand why it took me so long to complete. But now that it is finished and ready to go, I am really proud of it and I think it is a good and worthwhile story. One of the things that I learned while writing this book is that I can't force my

Flower growing through a seam in the concrete Hi Everyone! For those of you who have followed my blog, you know it has been a long time since I posted, and even longer since I posted regularly. I can make a lot of excuses, but the truth is, I have been struggling for a while. The grief journey is not linear, and it is not predictable. From the time that Cecil got sick, my storytelling was my refuge. It kept me afloat in the early days of my grief. But somewhere over the l

Four children and a dog on Christmas I have been thinking about my parents and the Christmas magic they created for us as children a lot this year. My mom’s aunt and uncle, Aunt Nini and Uncle Will, moved into our house when I was two. Uncle Will died just before my third birthday, and Aunt Nini lived with us for another sixteen years or so. That was an important fact in helping Mommy and Daddy create the magical Christmases that I love to remember. Mom was the only one of

View from Bridge at O'Hare airport to Terminal L I had such plans for December. Three theater performances. A trip to see my grand niece christened a Catholic. Training for a 10 mile race in January. At least some of my plans have materialized. December 3 brought a dental emergency and oral surgery including a bone graft. Lost a couple of days to that. Went to the theater on December 6 in somewhat of a haze, but loved seeing a friend's son as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reind

Screen shot of updated webpage showing cover of "Count Your Blessings" and back of book blurb On Wednesday while I was cooking the Thanksgiving Feast, I decided to update my website. I concentrated on the two pages that features my book series, the "As It Could Be" series and the "Bayou Beni" series. If all goes according to plan, I will go tomorrow to get photos of more local churches and decide on the cover photo for my work in progress, and update my home page with inform

My daughter and I - October 1976 Taking a different path is never easy. It was not in my life plan to be pregnant at fifteen, married and a mother at sixteen, and divorced with a child at twenty-one. But that is the path I took. I would not recommend it to anyone, but I wouldn't change it either. My daughter is the greatest gift in my life. That said, she suffered trauma from before she was born, as I was emotionally battered throughout my pregnancy. No ones fault, just

Image of the word "PEACE" on the New Orleans City Park Administration Building, part of the decorations for "Celebration in the Oaks". Just yesterday I posted that I needed a boost, some encouragement, a reason to keep writing. Today I got that. I'm training for a ten mile race at the end of January, so I went to City Park to get six miles in. While I was walking, I met a lovely couple from Utah, Tabitha and Paul, who are visiting New Orleans. We chatted for quite a while,

Sales and Kindle Page Reads during the last 30 days I had a very exciting window from October 29 to November 11, because just about every day, someone, somewhere was reading one of my books. This has led me to obsessively check my Amazon author page to see if there are any new reviews. There are not. I wish I knew what provoked the reading, and I really wish I could get some feedback on what the reader or readers thought. I know I should be promoting my two Christmas books,

Roosevelt Mall in New Orleans City Park I walked five miles in City Park today. It was the first time I walked in City Park since May. I love City Park. It fills me with joy and wonder every time I go. And yet, while I was in the darkness of this summer, I never took myself there. The only thing that stopped me from going to City Park for more than five months was me. That is a hard truth. I have been having hard conversations with myself over the last week about how th

I've managed to write over three thousand words in my work in progress since my blog post five days ago. Someone, or a few someones are reading my books, and I am accumulating Kindle page reads. No ratings or reviews, but at least someone liked the book enough to keep reading. I'm getting better at making myself look away from the things that weigh me down, and making myself do the things that lift me up. I'm realizing that I will have to consciously work at not falling back

Picture of two Bibles - one a teen Bible, obviously old and well used, and a new adult Bible. In the fall of 2024, I registered for a 24 week bible study. I hadn't done a Bible study since grammar school, when my religion teacher, Sister Laurentia, had us read the Bible as part of our religion studies. That grammar school Bible had been my Bible ever since. I decided I needed to get an adult Bible for class. The two bibles are pictured above. I still prefer some of the

Plaque reading "blessed" that hangs in my office As I continue to work to stay ahead of the darkness, I realize that I need to focus more on the good, on the beauty of small moments. In the spring of 2024, I began volunteering to tutor special needs individuals. One of my students has been with me since the beginning, but there have been a parade of others. I am now on my third session with another student, and we are beginning to forge a real relationship. While meeting ea

Flowers growing in the seam of stamped concrete My little volunteer flowers are still going strong. Me, not so much. But I am coming back, a little at a time. I wish I could articulate all the things that have stood between me and writing my blog and working on my book. All I can say is the grief journey is complicated, and I have not been navigating well this year. I started this blog after Cecil died in 2023 - when I purchased a domain name and built my website. The fi