Best. Review. Ever.

I have written and published four books since 2014. They are categorized as Women’s Fiction, which is defined as stories about women on the brink of life change and personal growth.

Both Sides of Love explores the beauty of true friendship and the ideals of love that last forever.

The Fabric of Us puts a loving thirty-year marriage to the ultimate test.

In Seasons Out of Time, we take a journey with a woman approaching middle age, who finds herself and learns to live, with the help of a younger man.

And then there is Letting Go. The first novel I ever wrote. Inspired by my ever-present fear of leaving my sons, I put pen to paper and wrote a cathartic tale that imagines the possibility that we will never leave our loved ones.

Written in 2010, when the boys were young. It sat in a drawer for a few years until I found the courage to re-write it and put it out into the world. If it never sells another copy, I am most proud of that work.

Why am I telling you this now?

Well. My older son is twenty-four, works full-time, travels and is on his way to a life that doesn’t revolve around his parents. (Pause for gut-wrenching sigh). As much as we tried while he was young, reading stories to him every day for years, he is not a reader. He and his brother know I write, they see my books on the shelves and are super-supportive sharing my successes and failures, but never showed more than a kind, passing interest in the content.

On our recent Christmas break, my son pulled a book from our full shelves and brought it with him back to his apartment to read, as part of a resolution his girlfriend suggested they try. He chose Letting Go. A few weeks later, I received a text.

Been reading every night. Damn near cried twice.

Two weeks later, another text:

Ma, excellent book. Couldn’t put it down. Reaching the last chapters.

Don’t know how it doesn’t have 100,000 purchases.

He came to visit after he finished. We talked about the story. He was engaged and enthusiastic and my heart swelled when he concluded that he loved it.

A full circle moment for me. It’s the best review I’ve ever received.

Post Thanksgiving Gratitude

Our younger son drove home from college earlier this week with the flu. Five hours alone in the car with fever, chills, body aches, he drove directly to the doctor, then home and into bed. He spent two days in his room letting Tamiflu do its thing, and felt significantly better Wednesday evening. 

To be safe, he opted to stay in his room on Thanksgiving for six hours so his 101-year-old great aunt could enjoy a meal with the family. We brought plates of food to him throughout the day and he ate alone, with his bedroom door open so he could hear the dinner conversation downstairs. 

Our older son will be turning twenty-three in a few days, so his grandmothers brought him a birthday cake. Great Aunt Virginia gave a special solo performance of the Happy Birthday song that nearly brought him to tears. 

This is 101, singing

When everyone left last night and the house was quiet, my husband and I joined the boys in the den to watch Ted Lasso, which we’ve all seen except for the one who had stayed in his room. We didn’t mind. We missed spending the day with him. And it’s a series worth watching again.

As I write this, the memories still fresh, I am filled with gratitude for so much in my life. For our sons, who consistently demonstrate kindness and compassion, for our parents, who we’re so lucky to still have, for family members who share our holidays and special memories, for Aunt Virginia, who is still singing, for our friends who reached out throughout the day, and for my husband, the perfect host partner and my best friend. 

I hope you all had a Thanksgiving filled with good memories, love, family, and friendship.