To date, I’ve given seven readings since August, when Strands was published. Each reading has taught me something about how best to share this many-themed memoir. What I am noticing is that more and more, these “readings” are actually opportunities for wonderful and deep conversations; folks have shared powerful and moving personal stories, too. Family stories. Stories about transgenerational trauma. About learning to live with uncertainty. And radical acceptance. The loneliness of sorrow, grief. Stories about how we relate to the word God. And how to offer a safe and confidential space to talk about Big Feelings. Good stuff!
So for the next month or two, as I finish another memoir, I will not be giving any more readings. Instead, in worship and in community with my Nurturing Faithfulness Group, I’ll explore how I’m being called; what does this unexpected but exciting development mean? (Which, frankly, may actually be more exciting and fulfilling for me than for the others in these de facto sharing circles? So I’ll need to pay attention to that, too!)
A one-woman PR/Marketing/Promotion Department with a zero budget, I have walked, driven, or taken the T to these readings; all but one have been hybrid. So I am, of course, exploring both more local options and online venues. If, Gentle Reader, you would like to offer your book club, cozy living room, church basement, the community room in your favorite cafe, etc. as a possible space for such conversations, let’s talk!