That’s me, Kolina. I’m going to look away. Can’t think about suicide.
When I saw your goal of 1000 words a day, my own recent memoir project came to mind. This is not self-promotion. At least I don’t think it is. It’s an invitation.
I was thinking about NaNoWriMo and wondered why there’s no NaMemWriMo. So I wrote memoir pieces twice a day for a month, in 20-30 min sittings. And at the end had a draft for a short memoir. Short pieces. Snapshots. I undertook this project thinking other writers might respond to an invitation to write for a month, and would produce a ms, and I could then assist those who wished to refine with work for publication. I’m a retired English teacher. I edited (we called it “correcting”) student work for decades. And I’m not on my third book published by KDP.
Did I send you a link? If not, and if you’d like to take a look at Snapshots, let me know. If I already sent you a link, thanks for the click.
1000 words a day—can be pretty ambitious. I published my first novel a year ago. I wrote five days a week for a couple months, took some time off to edit a pal’s ms, then returned to my project and finished. I think I averaged about 900 words a day.
Anyway, wishing you well. And happy to have a friend on SS.
Wow, you are so disciplined! I love that you were hammering out around 900 words per day but took a break to edit your friend's ms. That's so generous of you. Send me a link to Snapshots!
I'm always happy to have a friend on SS. And don't worry if you have to look away, a lot of us do.
Thanks for this writeup, Kolina. Better had been on my TBR. The Hume quote is interesting because Hume never married; he writes like a lifelong bachelor.
Oh how interesting. I didn't know anything about Hume before this. It's great that Better was on your radar. Obviously it's not an easy read, but there are moments of levity and, since she's alive to tell her story, it's pretty powerful.
I'd love to hear your thoughts if you do read the book. I'm going to go check out your work! I feel like I have such a different understanding of suicidal ideation now after reading that book.
I just finished Amanda Peter’s novel called The Berry Pickers. Amanda is Mi’kmaq and this story is about a native family from Canada who comes to Maine to pick berries, then apples. There’s a lot of loss and a lot of found as a family separated works it through.
Thank you for writing this review and bringing attention to this book. Suicidal thoughts are difficult to read and write about, but I agree with the author that writing about them stakes a claim in the conversation, and it helps to remove the stigma. I recently wrote a short story in which my main character suffers from suicidal thoughts while experiencing a long bout of insomnia. So far, I haven't shared it as I worried it would be 'too much' or too difficult to read. But, I've added this book to my TBR list - maybe reading it will help give me the courage to share my story.
I understand not wanting to share your short story because of that. It's hard! I was really nervous to publish this today. But I thought my nerves were inconsequential in comparison to ideas of suicide, so I went ahead. I'm so glad Better is on your radar now. If you ever decide to publish your story, I'd love to read it!
Thank you for your lovely reply ❤️ that's such a good approach to take and really brave of you! And thank you, I will definitely share it with you if I decide to publish it ☺️
That’s me, Kolina. I’m going to look away. Can’t think about suicide.
When I saw your goal of 1000 words a day, my own recent memoir project came to mind. This is not self-promotion. At least I don’t think it is. It’s an invitation.
I was thinking about NaNoWriMo and wondered why there’s no NaMemWriMo. So I wrote memoir pieces twice a day for a month, in 20-30 min sittings. And at the end had a draft for a short memoir. Short pieces. Snapshots. I undertook this project thinking other writers might respond to an invitation to write for a month, and would produce a ms, and I could then assist those who wished to refine with work for publication. I’m a retired English teacher. I edited (we called it “correcting”) student work for decades. And I’m not on my third book published by KDP.
Did I send you a link? If not, and if you’d like to take a look at Snapshots, let me know. If I already sent you a link, thanks for the click.
1000 words a day—can be pretty ambitious. I published my first novel a year ago. I wrote five days a week for a couple months, took some time off to edit a pal’s ms, then returned to my project and finished. I think I averaged about 900 words a day.
Anyway, wishing you well. And happy to have a friend on SS.
Rick
Wow, you are so disciplined! I love that you were hammering out around 900 words per day but took a break to edit your friend's ms. That's so generous of you. Send me a link to Snapshots!
I'm always happy to have a friend on SS. And don't worry if you have to look away, a lot of us do.
http://alegacyproject.org
Thanks Rick! Excited to check it out.
Thanks for this writeup, Kolina. Better had been on my TBR. The Hume quote is interesting because Hume never married; he writes like a lifelong bachelor.
Oh how interesting. I didn't know anything about Hume before this. It's great that Better was on your radar. Obviously it's not an easy read, but there are moments of levity and, since she's alive to tell her story, it's pretty powerful.
Wow, I’m so glad I stumbled upon this post. I also write about suicidal ideation and I’m delighted to learn about this book.
I'd love to hear your thoughts if you do read the book. I'm going to go check out your work! I feel like I have such a different understanding of suicidal ideation now after reading that book.
Thanks for the insight here. Maybe someday.
I just finished Amanda Peter’s novel called The Berry Pickers. Amanda is Mi’kmaq and this story is about a native family from Canada who comes to Maine to pick berries, then apples. There’s a lot of loss and a lot of found as a family separated works it through.
I've heard good things about that book! Did you like it?
I did. Very much.
You might be interested in Bibliophobia by Sarah Chihaya. Another beautiful memoir by a critic that covers similar territory.
Okay yes, I've heard of Bibliophobia! Requesting it from the library now. Thank you!
Thank you for writing this review and bringing attention to this book. Suicidal thoughts are difficult to read and write about, but I agree with the author that writing about them stakes a claim in the conversation, and it helps to remove the stigma. I recently wrote a short story in which my main character suffers from suicidal thoughts while experiencing a long bout of insomnia. So far, I haven't shared it as I worried it would be 'too much' or too difficult to read. But, I've added this book to my TBR list - maybe reading it will help give me the courage to share my story.
I understand not wanting to share your short story because of that. It's hard! I was really nervous to publish this today. But I thought my nerves were inconsequential in comparison to ideas of suicide, so I went ahead. I'm so glad Better is on your radar now. If you ever decide to publish your story, I'd love to read it!
Thank you for your lovely reply ❤️ that's such a good approach to take and really brave of you! And thank you, I will definitely share it with you if I decide to publish it ☺️
🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽