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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…
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Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Care & Keeping
I received a wonderful review recently on Amazon and it made my week. Lindsey’s kind words lined up beautifully with my latest project as I continue promoting my book: Lindsey…if you’re reading this, thank you so much. I dunno about being exceptional, but I’m getting comfier with me…being me. Your sweet review was just the…
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Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – At the Boulevard
I love questions and observations from readers. Recently I was asked about my parents’ capacity for giving – their lifelong focus on helping others, even when they had little to give other than their time. Such a question, no? I think my parents, Sue and Sonny, felt they were lucky in life. Despite the effort…
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Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Word Cloud Wisdom
Have you done any ‘textual analysis’ lately? Yup. That’s a big phrase for Word Cloud-making. Playing in the clouds…with words. In my higher ed days, creating word clouds was fun and purposeful. Presentations, teaching, leading teams and groups. There’s something invitational about a word cloud. Come closer, let’s peek. Maybe it’s the connection I make…
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Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Fault Lines
My mom, Sue, had a compulsive need to be right. She navigated most days in search of human fault lines, similar to the geological variety. Volatile and just beneath the surface. Dangerous, hard to detect, and ever-present. Sue sought fault lines and weaknesses in others as one of her defensive maneuvers. Her contentious behavior was best…
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Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Loving Lisa
Today is my big sister, Lisa’s birthday. Now that both of our parents are gone, it’s a high holiday that we continue to celebrate, honoring Lisa. One of the most magical humans I know. Lisa wasn’t expected to thrive or survive, but she did. She has. Despite being born premature and with substantial developmental disabilities…
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Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Intuitive Legacies
When Wynne and I chatted recently in our podcast with Jack Canfora, his anecdote about the Beatles’ song, Eleanor Rigby, was like a lightning rod for readers and listeners. It’s an amazing story – one that I won’t recount here, but feel free to give the episode a listen if you missed it. Knowing that…
Victoria Ponders 
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