Hi Dear friends: My lovely Mom passed away on December 14Th and this is the first time I have been able to begin blogging again. I Know my Mom would be like, "Leslie, get on with it--you know you are a writer, so write, write and keep on writing.I'm busy with my next life anyway--so don't delay on my account" OK Mom, here goes:
At the end of Mary's Memoir she describes her suicide attempt and how she admitted herself in to the mental institution she had the privilege of belonging to as the wife of a Harvard man. She later describes her time at the institution not as a nervous break-down, but as a nervous break-through. In reflection she writes, "I think back to the morning when I'd worked on the suicide note feeling already dead. It's a thousand years ago, the writing of that note."
She also wrote about how her connection to Church and God allowed her to pray deeply to break away from both her addiction and the darkness that held her happiness hostage. She explains the power of her prayer in this way, " It sounds so fake to say it, but only after I started praying was I able to put sober days together."
During the final section of Mary's book I see so many parallels to my own childhood. The struggle my Mom battled against addiction, the struggle I face now after her death seeing her soaring fighting spirit to battle darkness everywhere in me. Thank you Mary for writing honestly and inspiring me as I write my Memoir and thank you Mom for, like Mary, fighting to live and raise your children with a loving heart. Thank you. I love you for that forever Mom.
Our next Oprah pick from her January Magazine will also be a memoir. It's written by Elizabeth Gilbert who also wrote, "Eat, Pray, Love" soon to be a movie with Julia Roberts! Yes, I'll be going to that! Anyway, her new Memoir will be out on Jan 5Th and it called " Committed" It's all about her marriage to Felipe and the challenges and Joys of committed relationships. In the excerpt from her new Memoir in Oprah's January Magazine, she writes," There is hardly a more gracious gift that we can offer somebody than to accept them fully, to love them almost despite themselves."
I hope everyone pursues their creative dreams in 2010 and I hope reading our Oprah picks continues to inspire all of us to never give up on our creaivity, Happy New Year, Leslie
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Oh dear Leslie, How deeply painful to lose your mother. Be gentle with yourself. When I mourned the death of my father, the Hospice grief counselor recommended a little book, that I found helpful for understanding the stages of grieving. It is called, Good Grief.
ReplyDeleteI embrace you with much love and daimoku,
Lynette