Playing with ideas and honoring my gifts … sharing the retirement experience.
I will probably have to make this the introduction to any memoir I write.
As I go about the process of living, I turn my life into stories. Individuals in these stories tend to be recognizable and some of them dislike that, even though I try to show all their facets, not just the bad and not just the good. Consequently, I will probably have published under a pseudonym. They will still be able to recognize one another, but they’ll likely remain anonymous to the rest of the world.
I think I’ve found my memoir style. Essentially, writing topical essays and then arranging them in topical and chronilogical order.
I’ve read and listened to many memoirs over the last 5-10 years. The change started slowly with reading biographies and autobiographies. Then I started listening to memoirs as audiobooks. I actually read STEVE JOBS by Walter Isaacson and loved it. I also loved the story behind it: Jobs knew he was dying. His wife convinced him to allow full access and give up control of the narrative because this might be the only way for his young children to truly know him.
These are some of my recent favorites: Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry / I Miss You When I Blink: Essays by Mary Laura Philpott / Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives by Mary Laura Philpott / This Is What America Looks Like: My Journey from Refugee to Congresswoman by Ilhan Omar / In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction by Gabor Mate, MD / When the Body Says No by Gabor Mate, MD / The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family by Ron Howard, Clint Howard, Bryce Dallas Howard (Foreword) / Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg / Cat Daddy: What the World’s Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean by Jackson Galaxy, Joel Derfner
I’ve continued to journal, but I’ve been trying to expand that by writing down what I remember of my dreams, ideas, snippets of a sentence or story, and various observations of the world around me. And, as noted above in my MISSION STATEMENT, I am blogging again.
I’m a writer. I am going to start honoring that and see where I wind up. Language and ideas are my catnip. I’ve even been known to argue the side I disagree with if that makes the conversation more fun. I’ve been journaling and writing fiction and nonfiction since first grade. I was already creating arts and crafts.
As a Gemini with Sagittarius rising and my moon in Capricorn, my love of logic led me to a 30+ year career in information technology as an Army civilian. My spiritual and creative side supports my interests in mythology, comparative religion, spiritual practices, and handicrafts ranging from coloring posters and mandalas to all forms of fiber art.
Since retirement, my focus has been on settling into a new life spent with my mother in the town I grew up in. Much remains the same: reading, writing, jewelry, knitting, pets (including Bernie, my Scottish Fold who is now 2 years old), and family/friends.
The Practical Bohemian 