I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we children’s authors depict the children in our books: almost always capable and independent (a combination that prepares them for the adventures we throw at them). For instance, the kids in Secret of the Shadow Beasts are especially capable, and the adults put a lot on their… Read more »
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Happy birthday, Mom! I wish she were still here so that I could call her and hear her lovely voice. I always rang her on her birthday, and we chatted about whatever was going on. Usually, she`d tell me a story about what her dogs were up to (she had two Rhodesian Ridgebacks who were great companions), something fun that had happened at work (she made so many friends, so the story might have been about one of them), and a thank-you for the flowers I`d sent.
Just sharing that memory and this, a picture of her that I have on my desk. She`s at Bug Point Light in South Portland, Maine, and it`s a freezing day with the wind whipping off the water, but she`s beaming because she`s with her family, including her son-in-law, whom she adored.
I miss you, Mom, but thank you for being such a warm presence in my life. I will always remember that feeling.
#Birthdays #ParentalLoss ...
Eight years ago today, I lost a person very important to my life, one of my best friends ever: my mom. Here`s one of my favorite pictures of her on Mount Desert Island, a place she loved. Mom was a huge support and advocate for me as I grew up on that island, and always believed in me. When I was an adult, though, we had a new and very special relationship. She`d come to visit me and we`d go on adventures, exploring the area where I lived. She had a job, but she`d leave early on Friday and spend the whole weekend with me, returning home late Sunday. Those times, just Mom and me, were so incredibly special. We joked, talked, sat in companionable silence, and just felt each other`s company. My mom loved to learn and adored history, nature, plants, and animals, and more. I miss her so much. The grief of loss softens, but it never goes away.
#ParentalLoss #Love ...
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Articles
- The New York Times: “Young Heroines Who Are Saviors, Not Saints”
- Brightly: “Unexpected Paths: Encouraging Middle Grade Readers to Look Beyond the Obvious”
- School Library Journal: “Hearing Their Voices: Supporting Female Empowerment in Middle Grade Fiction for Tweens and Teens”
- MG Book Village: “My Audience”
- MG at Heart Writers’ Toolbox: “Using Imagined Conversations to Draw Character Relationships”