The beginning of this list starts with Valentines Day 2019, the day I learned She Writes Press had accepted The Strongbox for publication. The Strongbox: Searching For My Absent Father was published in the fall of 2020.
Private comments can be made on the Contact Me page
With Mother’s Day near, I’d like to read for you a section from my memoir, The Strongbox: Searching For My Absent Father, in which I describe why, when it came to my mother, I felt I needed to walk a line between discovery and disrespect.
Now available in paperback, e-book, and audio
I’m thrilled to announce that The Strongbox: Searching For My Absent Father is now available as an audio book. Narrating this memoir was a crowning achievement, given the reading challenges of my younger years. It’s a special accomplishment for all writers when they can declare that their work is available in paperback, e-book and as a personally narrated audio book, and now, I can lay claim to that milestone myself. An enormous thank you to all who have helped me reach this goal. Please click here to hear a sample of my reading from a short passage found on page 61 of The Strongbox: Searching For My Absent Father.
Contents from my mother’s strongbox
When it comes to memoir writing, Marion Roach Smith is a leader in the genre. She is a writer, coach and editor. Her most recent book is The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text on Writing & Life. When I was given an opportunity to make a guest appearance on her blog, QWERTY, I marked my calendar with gold stars.
As I knew she would be from her previous podcasts, she’s also a great conversationalist. Our thirty minutes together flew by; we could have gone on for hours. Her compliments were generous, and praise from her is high praise indeed. Here is a link to that most enjoyable interview:
How to Write a Family Memoir. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Receiving a favorable review is always a rewarding experience, but earning a “Get It” verdict from Kirkus is extra special. Kirkus quotes carry a good deal of weight in the publishing world because they’re one of the primary sources that libraries and booksellers turn to for fair and unbiased opinion. This pull-quote from their review, “A richly told adventure that explores the meaning of family and the power of grit,” is succinct and perfectly stated. I couldn’t be happier!
Airing today is my interview with Betsy Graziani Fasbinder on her podcast called The Morning Glory Project. Like the vines of that name, her guests are individuals who’ve found ways to get over, through, and around life’s challenges—determined to bloom another day. It’s a deep compliment to be among her monthly guest lineup, and I’m grateful for the interesting conversation she initiated. Below is a link to our 35 minute interview.
https://www.themorninggloryproject.com/terry-sue-harms/
Betsy is a wonderful and skilled interviewer. If you’d like to hear any of her past episodes (and/or subscribe to future episodes), check out https://www.themorninggloryproject.com/
This virtual event is free, but it does require an RSVP to the sponsoring bookstore—Napa Bookmine.
Here’s the RSVP link: Napa Bookmine RSVP This is a Zoom event, and Bookmine will send you the access codes.
That link is also where you can read about the other three fascinating authors that I’ll be sharing the hour with.
FYI: There are signed copies of The Strongbox: Searching For My Absent Father at the Napa Bookmine store on Pearl St. All of the bookstore’s information can also be found on the above link.
Hope to see you there!
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Nothing like having an engaging conversation with a fellow She Writes Press memoirist.
Rosemary’s book, The Art of Losing It, is about the down and dirty of grief, addiction, and mothering two small children in the wake of two devastating deaths: her brother and her husband, the kid’s father.
Sponsored by Village Books & Paper Dreams of Bellingham, WA
Here’s a YouTube link to our entire conversation:
Join us in the Virtual Readings Gallery as Keevil shares her brand new, powerful memoir about family, addiction, and carrying on after tragedy. She will be in conversation with fellow author, Terry Sue Harms.
When her brother dies of AIDS and her husband dies of cancer in the same year, Rosemary is left on her own with two young daughters and antsy addiction demons dancing in her head. This is the nucleus of The Art of Losing It: a young mother jerking from emergency to emergency as the men in her life drop dead around her; a high-functioning radio show host waging war with her addictions while trying to raise her two little girls who just lost their daddy; and finally, a stint in rehab and sobriety that ushers in a fresh brand of chaos instead of the tranquility her family so desperately needs.
Heartrending but ultimately hopeful, The Art of Losing It is the story of a struggling mother who finds her way—slowly, painfully—from one side of grief and addiction to the other.
“With unflinching honesty and bravery, The Art of Losing It brings readers into a world of love, loss, grief, addiction and recovery. It is a powerful reminder that what looks perfect on the outside may be crumbling on the inside. Faced with tragedy and an ensuing downward spiral, Rosemary Keevil finds the strength to change, for herself and her daughters. Beautifully written, there is no self-pity here. Her story and her family are an inspiration to those who feel alone in their struggles.”--Lisa Smith, author of Girl Walks Out of a Bar
“Raw. Honest. This is a story about unhealed grief and addiction, and how no amount of privilege can save us from ourselves. Keevil writes with utmost candor and shows us how easily we can bleed over those we love the most, but through recovery, families can and do heal. This book tells the truth! I loved it!” -- Lisa Boucher, Award-winning author of Raising the Bottom: Making Mindful Choices in a Drinking Culture
Rosemary Keevil has been a TV news reporter, a current affairs radio show host, and managing editor of a professional women's magazine. She has a master's degree in journalism and is currently a journalist covering addiction and recovery. Rosemary has two grown daughters with successful careers. She lives in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, with her partner and her sheep-a-doodle. Rosemary has been clean and sober since 2002. This is her first book.
Terry Sue Harms has been a hairdresser and salon owner for over forty years. She finds that keen powers of observation and a sincere communication style have served both her work as a cosmetologist and as a writer; plus, when it comes to studying the human condition, few places are better than the beauty shop. After a childhood of illiteracy, she taught herself to read and write as a young adult, one of her proudest and most rewarding accomplishments. She has previously self-published two books: Pearls My Mother Wore—a novel and Reflections Upon the Occasion of My 85th Year—a memoir she coauthored with her father-in-law. Her newest release is The Strongbox: Searching For My Absent Father—a memoir. Terry Sue lives in scenic Sonoma, California with her husband.
My presentation prop.
October 27th is the official publication day for The Strongbox: Searching For My Absent Father.
Article published 10/27/2020
After writing a novel, I thought writing a memoir was going to be less challenging. Not easy, but I couldn’t imagine how a story that I already knew could possibly be more difficult to tell than the one I had made up. After all, I understood the inciting incident, I knew the scenes, characters, and sequence of events, and I knew how it ended.
But I was wrong. Writing my memoir, The Strongbox, took four times longer to finish, and it presented more emotional challenges than my fiction writing ever had. Nevertheless, in both the novel and the memoir, I kept a firm grasp on the practice of showing up for the words. The memoir nearly put me into therapy a couple of times, but I kept writing. Holding the emotional gravity of my story while remaining a steadfast companion to my husband, going to my day job, and marching around like a solid citizen: minding my manners, paying my bills, and honoring the rules of the road, was, at times, a herculean task.
There was a brief period of time, early on, when I wondered if I should fictionalize my life’s story, change the details enough to hide the fact that I was writing a memoir. Those musings fizzled because life is crazier than fiction, and if I wrote what had actually happened as fiction, readers would scoff, “Oh, come on.”
Deciding to go for the truth was more frightening than invigorating. That was probably the most perilous time for getting the book written. It was tempting to turn away from what I wanted to say, just give up, put the whole subject into a boarded and padlocked cell never to be visited again.
Funny that. The I-can’t-do-this phase is surely universal. Even when I was questioning if and how I was going to approach another big writing project, I had a sense that my logic-laced pushback was just a part of the gig. It’s something writers go through.
Telling myself that I didn’t have enough time, that nobody would want to read it, or that I didn’t have enough material were all ways that I tried to sabotage a story that insisted on being told. Books get written because authors know they have to plow through that first hurdle of self-doubt.
The driving questions in my memoir are Who was my father? And Why wasn’t he in my life?
>>>Please read the remainder of the article by clicking here.
Silence Did Not Stop Me
Terry Sue Harms 9/2020
Being interviewed for Authority Magazine has certainly put a bounce in my step. The whole article can be read by clicking here.
#3 of 5) “Trust yourself. Writing is like a fingerprint; our words are unique to our own experience. With so many literary giants to look up to, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and feel there’s no way to measure up. What I came to understand is that what makes the giants so magnificent is that they were able to capture something that had not been done before. They followed the lead of their own inclinations. Trust is the organic soil from which great writing grows.”
Arrival of the Advance Reader Copies
Today, the Advance Reader Copies of The Strongbox arrived. To say I feel like I could leap tall buildings with a single bound is an understatement. The final version is scheduled for release on October 27, 2020, but these ARC’s let me know that the memoir is alive and well on its way. I couldn’t be happier.
Better late than not at all. Wow, that was embarrassing to arrive at the radio studio fifteen minutes late due to a misunderstanding about the station’s address, but the host, the fabulous Ms Lisa Cox, was very accommodating and made me feel right at home. Prior to our date, I had been invited to pick a couple of songs to play during the interview, and I enjoyed finding a selection that was thematically connected our discussion. I picked: “Ode To Billy Joe” by Bobbie Gentry, “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” and “Meanwhile Down At Joe’s” by Kitty Wells, and “I Worship The Ground You Walk On” by Etta James. Have a listen, and I hope you enjoy what you hear.
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Radio opportunities are showing up in a big way. My morning with Cat Smith at KSVY was the first. Next, I’m lined up to chat with Lisa Cox at KOWS 92.5 on March 9th at 10:00 a.m. I’m not sure how they came up with the call letters KOWS for that little West Sonoma County community station, but I love the humor.
Hello KSVY-91.3FM, Sonoma! I’m jazzed to have been invited to chat with Ms Cat Smith on her radio show “Hollywood & West Napa Street.” Cat Smith is a local Social Media Butterfly. She has been with KSVY for about a dozen years, and her current show is all about the entertainment world. She loves talking to creative people, saying, “Most people do not have access to these people, so it is awesome to be able to seek them out and have a conversation on air while Sonoma listens! Some of the guests are my peers, some are my idols, and some people are just starting out and need a spotlight.”
And on Tuesday, February 18th at 10:00, I’ll get to be her guest. We’ll be talking about my memoir-The Strongbox, my Shut Out Stories blog, writing in general, and whatever else finds its way into the conversation. I’m so looking forward to spending time with Cat and experiencing radio from inside the station.
Born in New Jersey as the youngest of six to a mother who was seriously ill, Ilene English became something of a lost child. In spite of this, she was a free spirit, her life fueled by an innate sense of optimism and determination. As a young woman, she became an early psychedelic pioneer, experimenting with LSD during a time when it was still legal and its effects were not yet fully comprehended. During the sixties, she, along with an entire community of fellow trippers, innocently thought that they could change the world into one that valued love over materialism through psychedelics. Today, years later, English is a licensed psychotherapist. Her life experience informs her work as a healer and a teacher. Hippie Chick is her first book.
Author Event at Book Passage in Corte Madera
Mag Dimond will discuss her memoir, Bowing to Elephants.
She will be introduced by author, Buddhist master, teacher, and founder of Spirit Rock, Jack Kornfield.
The Language of Color with Susan Page Tillett
Join author and teacher Susan Page Tillett for this fun, accessible workshop, designed to teach the symbolism of color and how to use it to enhance writing. Susan will share her book What’s to Wear, Beatrice Bird? to illustrate how the colors of the rainbow relate to the seven energy centers of the body and what the individual colors we choose or avoid reveal about our point of view and that of our characters.
Susan brings 20 years of experience as a teacher of color, certified by the International Academy of Colour Theraputics in Great Britain. She is a frequent leader of workshops designed to encourage creativity.
Susan is passionate about supporting the work of writers and other artists, which she currently does as Executive Director of the Mesa Refuge, a writing retreat in Point Reyes Station.
Susan is the author of two books, The Ragdale House Speaks and What’s to Wear, Beatrice Bird?, as well as several works of creative non-fiction, including “Trip to Mexico, Side Trip to Heaven,” published in She Can Find Her Way: Women Travels at Their Best.
When journalist Kalpana Mohan made a study of her father, it began as an analgesic for his mild depression. She was, and had been for three decades, living in Saratoga, CA, while her father resided in the place of her youth, Chennai, India. Her telephone interviews were conducted daily. Before hanging up, she would give her father some bit of homework to complete before their next conversation. He undertook those assignments with meticulous care. Thus began what would become Kalpana’s recently released memoir: Daddykins. Her astute observance of details and wicked humor are sure to enliven what could easily have become an overly sentimentalized accounting of an adored man’s life by his equally adored daughter. The final chapter of Daddykins was written from his bedroom following his lasts breaths that were to be had on Fathers Day 2014. Surrounded by his most personal of belongings, she wrote for days to capture both the ordinary and the extraordinary in her beloved parent.
Provocative prompts and hilarious writing are expected to come from an evening with Constance Hale, author of Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wicked Good Prose. She will be discussing character, as it is key in telling a great yarn.
How to write and keep your day job? With daily demands on all of our lives, Jacqueline Yau will speak on how to carve out time for our writing life.
Lynn Breedlove is what I would call a noble activist and agitator. Through the written word and performance art, with award winning recognition for mentoring and entrepreneurship, fueled by outrage over generations of social injustice, Breedlove is both foot soldier and troubadour in the fight against oppression and for fellowship within the diverse makeup of humanity. I’m excited to go to his 45 Thought Crimes book event at San Francisco’s famed City Lights Books.
http://www.citylights.com/info/?fa=event&event_id=3381
Daunted by rejection slips? Guy Biederman has found ways to embrace the submission process. One of his tricks is to refer to the pieces he turns in for review as being sent not submitted. His work is never rejected, it’s declined. He doesn’t spend time groaning and scoffing; instead, with levity and determination, it’s produce and send, produce and send. I’m looking forward to having some of that tenacious spirit rub off on me.
Of all the days in the year that I could learn that my memoir, The Strongbox , had found a publisher, it was on Valentine’s Day. I put all my heart into writing this book, and to have it affirmed on that specific day has extraordinary meaning for me. As readers will discover, Valentine’s Day has harbored some of the most cheerless events in my life, and The Strongbox, in large measure, has been about addressing and redirecting the impact of those events. Getting notice from She Writes Press on February 14th that they were backing my story filled me with teary-eyed wonder at the synchronicity. When I asked Brooke Warner, the founder of SWP, if she had intentionally waited for that day to make the announcement, she said she hadn’t, which makes it all the more preternaturally marvelous. I couldn’t have asked for a more propitious date to read their words to me, which included: “The Strongbox conjures up so much — not only is it a vessel to hold information your mother had, it also feels like you are the strongbox in this story — brave, resilient and determined.”
I’m so excited for the public phase of this project to begin and to have the company of the She Writes Press team and all of their authors in my camp. We’re scheduled for release in the fall of 2020. This is sure to be an eventful next year and a half, and I’m looking forward to sharing it with everyone.
