Healing Is Not Linear

August 30th, 2017
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healing linear

One of the most excellent things about reading is when you discover a fictional character in a book who expresses something you have been feeling but haven’t been able to describe.

This happened to me the other night while I was reading the Pulitzer Prize winning book, Olive Kitteridge by the beautiful writer and author Elizabeth Strout.

In the book, I am introduced to Angie O’Meara, a middle-aged woman who plays piano in a cocktail lounge in Maine.  She has had a few drinks while playing Christmas carols during her shift and out of the corner of her eye she … Read More

The Light Between Oceans — Fantastic Fiction

October 11th, 2013
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You know you’ve read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend ~ Paul Sweeney The above quote captures the way the way I felt when I recently finished reading, “The Light Between Oceans.” by M.L. Stedman. If you are looking for a book of fiction that will transport you to another time and place, then I would highly recommend “The Light Between Oceans” to you.  It is beautifully written and for a first novel, an amazing piece of storytelling. Essentially, it is a story of stunning loss,… Read More

The Selling of The Washington Post

August 9th, 2013
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There are some stories that I never expected to read in my lifetime. The selling of The Washington Post is one of them.  When I saw the first tweet about this surprising event, I thought I had read it too fast and read the words completely wrong.  I had to go back and read it again a few times before I understood that it was a real story. I just never in a million years thought the Graham family would sell the newspaper that they have owned for decades and generations.  To those of us who live here in Washington,… Read More

Carl Hiaason

August 7th, 2013
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If you are looking for a book that will take you to a wickedly funny place and make you laugh out loud, then I highly recommend Carl Hiaasen’s new book, Bad Monkey, to you. I just finished reading it while on vacation at the beach last week and I loved it!  I can’t tell you how many times I was sitting in my beach chair with my book while my friends were talking and catching up with each other.  There I was, face stuck in the book, reading Bad Monkey and literally bursting out laughing at the smart, flip and… Read More

What Day Is It?

August 1st, 2013
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Vacation. Isn’t it a great word? Although it’s a verb, the word vacation doesn’t evoke action to me.  When I hear the word vacation I think about the air being let out of a balloon.  Or exhaling slowly. I am in vacation right now and I feel blessed to be having one.  I am off-schedule, under the radar and very much unplugged, living in an alternate universe of sleeping in, eating and reading books whenever I want and not knowing what time it is. Or even what day it is.  I haven’t turned on the television in days.  What a… Read More

Mental Relaxation

January 8th, 2013
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Planes, trains, cars and boats are not always at the ready to take us to dreamy destinations. Work, finances and other life responsibilities sometimes get in the way of traveling even though everyone needs take occasional breaks from their surroundings, especially if life is particularly stressful or painful. You can’t always take a vacation even if you really need or want one. But you can read a book. I saw this wonderful saying from Dr. Suess (posted above) on one of my favorite websites, The Silver Pen (www.thesilverpen.com) and was reminded of the magical healing power of reading and books.… Read More

The Electricity of Personal Power

July 9th, 2012
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One of the many trees that uprooted after Washington, DC storms Over the past several weeks, my neighborhood has lost electrical power several times for varying periods of time. Maybe you’ve read about the very sudden and very strong storms that recently have hit the Washington, DC area.  It’s been very scary and frustrating.  We are still recovering from the last storm that hit over a week ago: some people in Bethesda and Rockville, Maryland are still without power and have been without power for over a week.  Pretty unbelievable right? You should read the news stories and tweets about… Read More