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Book Review Gratitude
With gratitude galore to the talented and generous author Diana (D. Wallace Peach), I’m sharing her review of “Surviving Sue”: Surviving Sue by Dr. Vicki Atkinson This is a riveting memoir by Vicki Atkinson chronicling life with her mother Sue, who suffered from alcoholism, depression, Munchausen by Proxy, dementia, and Alzheimer’s. It covers the author’s
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Hopping Genres
I’m in the thick of it, working through another test. This time, the exploration of writing a novel. I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was in pursuit, wondering if my previous experience in academic and memoir writing could be tapped to conjure a largely fictionalized story. Along the way, writers will tell you
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Healthy Exits
The Preamble: Does this happen to you? When I begin mulling a certain topic, my brain finds alignment with the theme or concept and before I know it, I have a line-up of scenarios, moments, memories that fall into the same bucket of consideration. It’s fantastic, this awareness business 😉 and it makes me think
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What an Honor!
A new article about “Surviving Sue” and Writing for Wellness is out – featured in Happiness Between Tails by da-AL – Writing/Tales + Tails + Culture + Compassion. That’s the talented da-AL pictured above. If you’re not following her to absorb all the inspiration in her blog, what are you waiting for? When an Emmy
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Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – She’s One!
My book about my mom’s complicated life, “Surviving Sue” is turning one! Wowza. Just wowza. The past year has been full of ‘firsts’ – things I never imagined doing and I’m grateful, grateful. One of those little gems arrived this morning when I noticed the Kindle version of “Surviving Sue” popped back up in the
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Fresh Feedback & Coming Soon!
I’ve got some fresh feedback – two lovely reviews to share – and a reminder about an upcoming event! The friendly folks at the Woodstock Public Library have invited me to present on Tuesday, July 30 and I can’t wait: Navigating Elder Care with Humor and Grace | Woodstock Public Library (librarycalendar.com) Caregiving is a
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The Unfolding
In 2006, just six months before he passed away, author Kurt Vonnegut responded to a letter from a group of Xavier High School students in New York City. I’m sure you’ve read about this – the goodness of the message has gone viral more than once in the intervening years, most recently thanks to actor,
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Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – News!
Thanks so much for the continuing interest in my book, “Surviving Sue”. I’m grateful to the Palos Heights Public Library for hosting me on May 9. What a beautiful library and lovely people! Coming up next? Registration is still open for the course I’ll be teaching at Harper College, starting June 18. It’s an in-person
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Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Nap If You Want To
Some of my favorite queries from readers are questions about my mom’s sisters and whether they’re in my life now, nearly nine years after my mom, Sue, passed away. The short answer? No. I’ve had no contact with them since 2016 – just a few months after Sue died. The longer answer? Heartache precludes me
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Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – On the Road
If you’re in the Chicago area, I’d love to meet you next week at a “Surviving Sue” event, focused on caregivers and elder care challenges: Palos Heights Public Library Thursday, May 9 7pm – 8pm I’m grateful to so many readers for their support and recognition about the challenges of being a caregiver and if
Victoria Ponders 
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