Victoria Ponders

Author of “Surviving Sue”

  • Reasons to Smile…

    Reason to Smile – #1: The 2024 Printers Row Lit Fest is set for Saturday, September 7 & Sunday, September 8, 10AM – 6PM. This FREE event takes place on the streets of South Dearborn, from Ida B Wells to Polk Street in Chicago. Come Rain or Shine! I’ll be there, in the Chicago Writers

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  • Love Abundant

    Yesterday I learned a dear friend suffered a heart wrenching loss – the unexpected passing of a dear uncle. She said she’d felt a tug to reach out to him over the past few months but didn’t slow down to do so. How close to home does that confession hit? Too close. Too close for

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  • Lisa’s Got Game!

    A reader of “Surviving Sue” asked recently about my sister Lisa’s awareness of the book, my blogging about her and our life with Sue. Such a good question… Given Lisa’s intellectual and developmental disabilities, I’ve never said, “I wrote a book about mom” because I knew it would stir residual emotional trauma for her. But

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  • Bunnies, Books & Forgiveness

    The other day while sitting on the deck I had a visitor. A sweet baby bunny intent on munching on a leafy hunk of geranium, juicy and wet, freshly fallen from the large stone planter thanks to an overnight thunderstorm. She glanced at me, just a few feet away and must’ve concluded I looked harmless,

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  • Book Club Fun

    I had a terrific time last week visiting with a local book club at the beautiful Palatine Library. I’ve said this before, but the unexpected joy that comes from receiving feedback from readers who thoughtfully absorbed my story and took the time to attend a gathering to learn more – about me, the process of

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  • Woodstock Rocks!

    No…not the music festival…the Library! Thank you to the wonderful people who joined me this week at the Woodstock Public Library for the “Navigating Elder Care with Grace & Humor” event. Connecting with new friends about what matters most…swapping tips and secrets about how to live our best lives while often caring for others…makes me

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  • Inspire

    When readers of “Surviving Sue” ask about my courage and fortitude to write about my mom and my complicated life with her, I smile and share that I received plenty of support from allies and mentors along the way and choosing a career as a licensed counselor solidified my belief in the power of personal

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  • Humor and Grace…

    I shared this news a few weeks ago but can’t resist one last reminder that I have a presentation upcoming — next week — on a topic near and dear to me. Many thanks to librarian, Austin Nord, for the invitation to present at the Woodstock Public Library on Tuesday, July 30 at 6:30 pm.

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  • “Surviving Sue” – A Riveting Reel

    Thanks to my dear friend Alegria for her talents and support. In addition to her riveting review of “Surviving Sue” (which I wrote about here) she created an Instagram reel…a video that made my heart skip a beat. Oh my goodness. See below. The music, the captioning…Alegria captured the intensity of my mom’s story in

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  • Straight to My Heart

    First! Are you following Life with Alegria?   If you’re not, hop to it, friends!  The WordPress community continues to delight and surprise me with introductions to the most generous souls. Kind and thoughtful humans who create meaningful, provocative content which inspires. That’s Alegria and you’ll love her blog…full of visual feasts and reminders that

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“Surviving Sue”, a special story about resiliency and love: Eckhartz Press (paperback) and eBook on Amazon.

Peek Inside “Surviving Sue“

Visit Resources on Atkinson Group Solutions for more.

Podcasts

Listen to the “Sharing the Heart of the Matter” podcast.

You can find our podcast on Apple, Amazon, Spotify and Pocket Casts.  Please subscribe!

Workshops

Chicago Writers Association Speakers Bureau – Writing for Wellness; Navigating Elder Care with Grace & Humor; How to Create a Writing Platform; AI for Caregivers

About Me

Learn about five books that inspired and supported my writing journey by visiting my personalized book review page on Shepherd.

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