The ice was like a mirror, as the Zamboni found its way back to its parking space. The entrance door creaked open, the skate guards were placed on the ledge, and the first blade hit the shiny, hard surface. The fresh, cool air filled her lungs, and a cloud of mist emerged from her...
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Oh, this is going to be good. We are going to write about our obsessions or passions this week in the memoirs group. Here is some guidance from Natalie Goldberg (paraphrased) from her book, Old Friend from Far Away. “Memoirs are not about your whole life, they are more an expression of your life...
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For the memoirs prompt on a storage unit. This is no ordinary blue trunk. Our relationship has spanned about 36 years now, longer than I have known my husband. Like me, it has a few dents and scrapes, but its beautiful blue color still shines through. The first memories of my blue trunk are...
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Here’s how memory works according to Natalie Goldberg. “With memory, you need to wake up different angles. You might stub your toe one morning and your mind tumbles back to an old friend, who wrote poems, and introduced you one May to peonies. The buds secreted a sticky sweet juice that attracted ants. The...
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My Dad had business in Chicago and he decided to take my brother and I with him. We were, I think, about 16 and 17 years old at the time. His client, a trucking company executive, and his wife took us out one evening. We arrived at a nondescript door, knocked and were granted...
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Is happiness as compelling as fear? That’s what I wondered after last week’s exercise on remembering fear. Like fear, happiness for me is best remembered in moments. It’s often fleeting, but oh so delicious. Contentment tends to be longer lasting, but happiness? That is when you experience a joy so profound that you suddenly...
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The terrorizing thoughts would hit when I was in bed for the night. I don’t even know how old I was,probably around 10, but I’m not sure. I don’t know how long it lasted either, but I did get over it. While I didn’t dread going to bed, I did dread the thoughts coming....
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Getting to the emotional truths underlying a story. Do you remember the first time you were afraid or any time you were afraid? Set up the story. Where were you and why? Describe the setting. What happened next and what were you thinking and feeling? What happened after? In her example from Old Friend...
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A Memorable Meal There is a lot I don’t remember about this meal, yet it was one of my most memorable. Growing up, I was a painfully shy figure skater. My passion for skating bordered on obsession. On the ice I could let loose, but talking was not my thing so my fellow skaters...
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A Memorable Meal by Karen It is an early July Sunday — monsoon season, Tucson-style. Two residents of the Spadefoot Housing Co-op sprawl across assorted porch furniture; two more adhere to faded living room upholstery. Ours is a parched, spent, 108° quiet. We have no juice in the house, and for that matter, we...
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This week’s exercise for writing memoir is all about coffee and you could win a copy of Natalie Goldberg’s book Old Friend from Far Away. Being from Canada, I grew up drinking tea. When I started working, we used to go to a little coffee shop in an office building across the street and...
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Seven Up Six Up Five Up Four Up One Two Three Up Two Up One Up The little girl repeated her mantra, sometimes aloud, sometimes in her head, as the rubber ball bounced off the cement wall of the school. It was quiet, being a Saturday and school out for the weekend. She lived...
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Continuing in Memoir Writing with exercises which explore our senses, here are two more. The first is to give a memory of sound (trying not to use the word ”sound”). Here is Natalie Goldberg’s example, ”I remember hearing the lawn mower as I lay in bed when I was twelve, reading Gone With the...
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Man oh man, we are off to a great start in the memoir writing group. Our first exercise was to write about an aunt, mother or grandmother. And we got stories about all three. Bev and Petunia talked about being loved and accepted by their grandmothers and the lessons they learned. I wrote about...
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This week in the memoir writing group we will be focusing on our senses. I will add one prompt today, another mid-week, and a final one on Friday. These exercises are from page 6 (Test 1) from Natalie Goldberg’s book, “Old Friend From Far Away.” She suggests that you begin each answer with “I...
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“To have an old friend visit from far away – what a delight!” What if that old friend was you? The quote just mentioned is from the introduction to Natalie Goldberg’s book, “Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir.” It was a birthday present from a dear friend and I thought...
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