Be sure to watch her YouTube Video!
An early Mother’s Day Gift!
Dear Suzanne,
I’m half-way through your terrific book, and couldn’t wait to write you; I’m underlining on every page, and have just ordered two more copies, gift-wrapped, for friends turning fifty.
A few months ago, my own book, The Gift of an Ordinary Day: A Mother’s Memoir, was published by Grand Central. I didn’t know it till this morning, when I began reading yours, that what I’d actually written was missive from deep within The Fertile Void. There were many times, during the writing when I completely lost confidence in what I was doing. (I’d send chapters to my mom, asking, “Will anyone be interested in this?” And she would call to say, “Well, I’m interested, but of course, I KNOW you.” Not terribly encouraging.) When the book came out, it felt uncomfortable, as if I were running around town in my pajamas — not exactly naked, but weirdly exposed
and vulnerable. And then the letters started coming in, from women who said, “I feel as if you are writing the thoughts in my mind.”
That’s when I began to relax, and to realize that, as you say, we are all more alike than different. And that we can find our Horizontal
Role Models at every turn. My readers are my role models these days, as I am theirs; the conversation has been amazing.
Anyway, I love your website, and your message. At fifty-one, I have already found myself hesitating on occasion to reveal my age, because
I think that the younger mothers who write to me will feel that I’m too out of touch with their challenges. And then they surprise me, by saying that I give them some idea of what lies ahead, just up the road and around the corner from where they are.
I’d love to send you a copy of my book, if you tell me where to send it. And I hope you’ll drop in on my website too. (My great claim to
fame at the moment is a YouTube video that’s making the rounds–a total surprise, but I’m also really proud of it; in a way, the process
of writing–and then going out to meet my readers–has led me out of the Fertile Void into a brand new place.)
All best, and thank you for writing the perfect book!
Katrina Kenison
Click here to watch the YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olSyCLJU3O0
