Hunkering in place has caused me to reflect. How are most people spending their days? Some are still working remotely as before. Some are not employed. Some are underemployed or unemployed on purpose, as homemakers, retirees or those who are working on an alternative approach to engagement, such as writing. No matter what, the corona …
Silence is Not Always Golden
Ginger the pugshund Last night, Ginger disappeared. My husband had come in and out of our patio a couple of times before and after dinner, attempting to enjoy a bit of a breezy sunset after broiling all week with 90 plus degree temperatures. Typically, we both sit on the patio; but this time, I busied …
A Hole in One’s Heart
A Hole in One’s Heart I’ve been missing in action for the last few months, focused on spreading the word about my memoir, The Land of Sunshine and Hell, A Memoir of a ‘60’s Unwed Mother. It has caused me to do further research into the hidden world of adoption and relinquishment. The results have …
Now Where Did I Leave It?
Why have I not been writing for the past few weeks? Am I avoiding exercising my "scribe muscles" or am I procrastinating by ruminating over topics that would be of value? Am I prejudging what others would find interesting? Am I self-editing for fear my topic is too risky? Or is it that I tend …
When Are You Really a Writer?
I'm excited to announce two important events: I will be doing my third book signing at the Barnes & Noble at The Collection on Peachtree Parkway, Saturday July 14th. Please come and visit! I have also been invited to be a panelist at this year's Decatur Book Festival, September 1 & 2. Stay tuned for …
Domestic Wanderlust
My husband and I had been discussing it for a while: after all the overseas trips we’ve taken, we realized we’d hardly seen much of the USA. It was time. But how to go about it? Do we fly and hotel everywhere? Do we rent some sort of RV? As we began to research it, …
What Can I Bring?
I recently had back surgery that affected my mobility. One of the first things I noticed (as the optimist that I am) is that it caused me to stop and see the small wonders surrounding me. The red-headed ladder back woodpecker on my birdfeeder; the buds on the trees about to burst into lime splendor; …
Going Public
I am thrilled to finally have published my book, “The Land of Sunshine and Hell, a Memoir of a ‘60’s Unwed Mother”. It is now available on Amazon or direct from the publisher, Austin Macauley. It was a two-year journey of discovery and a fifty-year incubation that finally culminated in the book. Along the way …
Facing the Precipice
My husband’s eldest brother died this week. It did not come as a complete surprise, given his hermit-like existence. We often wondered how he sustained himself. We knew he had Canadian health insurance provided, and probably some kind of social assistance to allow him to eat. But his appearance at rare family occasions always looked …
A New Lens on My World
Last Friday, I had cataract surgery, improving the vision of my world through my right eye. The procedure was done in a hospital where anesthesia was used to make it all pain free and totally under control with resources available in case of emergency. What I didn’t realize was that it brought back buried impressions …
Maxene Raices 