I loved this story. Finish the book! As a Northern Michigander I feel every bit of that story and I hate to hear you say you can’t finish it. I believe both in you and the power of the story. I too have a story I have wanted to write and keep stepping back so you have given me the courage.
Glad to help, Edy! But this book, as much as I love it, would take all of my energy to finish and all of my resources to publish. Traditional publishing routes would take too long now, even if it should happen, and it's exhausting to even think about the chunks of the mine strike history still missing from the manuscript.
I let it languish for too long and missed my chance. My own fault, but I'm still proud enough of what I did finish to want to see it in print. And that's what I'm doing here.
So true isn’t it? I can’t figure out whether it’s good that we reach the age where we are realistic about the possibilities or whether it’s sad to lose that belief that anything is possible. A bit of both I guess. Anyway, you’re an inspiration!
Oh, thank you for this! Sorry it took me a couple of days to get to it. This is so evocative. It makes me think of my grandmother, who wrote a whole series of memoirs about her childhood growing up as a preacher's kid in poor parishes all over the Midwest. The first was called Faith and Fried Potatoes, and reading it I experienced viscerally what it was like for her to live in sod houses and weather the demands of an "upstanding Christian life" in the face of grinding poverty. Not only did it show me that that sort of life mattered, but it provided me a window into where I come from which was an incredible gift. Much greater than any of the carefully folded Guidepost articles that she insisted on sending me throughout my childhood, which meant nothing to me at all. Her writing allowed me, as all good fiction does, to inhabit her, which the reality of her made difficult.
I am also sorry that you will never finish this book, but I'm so glad you shared it here. Thank you, again!
Those family stories are so essential, but sadly, we don't always appreciate them or ask enough questions--until it's too late. I encourage everyone to write about their relatives, their ancestors, their family histories, even if they don't think they have the writing capability. It's the story that counts!
Oh, wait! I didn't mean to imply you couldn't write your story well! OMG, no! You write beautifully, and you grabbed me instantly in your comment here. I want to read everything you ever write about your family. Any time.
Thank you! I'm working on it. I will confess, I don't think I will ever be able to publish anything book-length about my family until after my mom dies. I just can't figure out how to write truthfully and not kill my relationship with her. I do write about us in my newsletter periodically, and I know she reads it, but after one particular run-in following writing about my now-dead father this past spring, she has ceased to acknowledge when I write anything about my family. Which is better than refusing to talk to me, I guess, but still... it's complicated.
It does get complicated. I don't write about my family but I know others who do, and they're always anguished--torn between wanting to write the truth while not wanting to make waves in a family that is usually already dysfunctional.
It's part of being true to ourselves. They're our stories to tell, but we don't go through this life alone. How much can we tell without hurting people we might care about? Always the question.
I loved this story. Finish the book! As a Northern Michigander I feel every bit of that story and I hate to hear you say you can’t finish it. I believe both in you and the power of the story. I too have a story I have wanted to write and keep stepping back so you have given me the courage.
Glad to help, Edy! But this book, as much as I love it, would take all of my energy to finish and all of my resources to publish. Traditional publishing routes would take too long now, even if it should happen, and it's exhausting to even think about the chunks of the mine strike history still missing from the manuscript.
I let it languish for too long and missed my chance. My own fault, but I'm still proud enough of what I did finish to want to see it in print. And that's what I'm doing here.
So true isn’t it? I can’t figure out whether it’s good that we reach the age where we are realistic about the possibilities or whether it’s sad to lose that belief that anything is possible. A bit of both I guess. Anyway, you’re an inspiration!
Thanks for that! Stick around and let's get this community started. We writers need each other!
Oh, thank you for this! Sorry it took me a couple of days to get to it. This is so evocative. It makes me think of my grandmother, who wrote a whole series of memoirs about her childhood growing up as a preacher's kid in poor parishes all over the Midwest. The first was called Faith and Fried Potatoes, and reading it I experienced viscerally what it was like for her to live in sod houses and weather the demands of an "upstanding Christian life" in the face of grinding poverty. Not only did it show me that that sort of life mattered, but it provided me a window into where I come from which was an incredible gift. Much greater than any of the carefully folded Guidepost articles that she insisted on sending me throughout my childhood, which meant nothing to me at all. Her writing allowed me, as all good fiction does, to inhabit her, which the reality of her made difficult.
I am also sorry that you will never finish this book, but I'm so glad you shared it here. Thank you, again!
Those family stories are so essential, but sadly, we don't always appreciate them or ask enough questions--until it's too late. I encourage everyone to write about their relatives, their ancestors, their family histories, even if they don't think they have the writing capability. It's the story that counts!
Oh, wait! I didn't mean to imply you couldn't write your story well! OMG, no! You write beautifully, and you grabbed me instantly in your comment here. I want to read everything you ever write about your family. Any time.
Thank you! I'm working on it. I will confess, I don't think I will ever be able to publish anything book-length about my family until after my mom dies. I just can't figure out how to write truthfully and not kill my relationship with her. I do write about us in my newsletter periodically, and I know she reads it, but after one particular run-in following writing about my now-dead father this past spring, she has ceased to acknowledge when I write anything about my family. Which is better than refusing to talk to me, I guess, but still... it's complicated.
It does get complicated. I don't write about my family but I know others who do, and they're always anguished--torn between wanting to write the truth while not wanting to make waves in a family that is usually already dysfunctional.
It's part of being true to ourselves. They're our stories to tell, but we don't go through this life alone. How much can we tell without hurting people we might care about? Always the question.