Author of “Surviving Sue”

  • From the Inside-Out

    So much can happen in a year’s time.  When I think about my inspiration to write about Dr. James Pennebaker’s book, “Opening Up by Writing it Down” I’d swear I wrote this post just a couple of months ago.  Turns out…it’s been a year. Almost exactly.  Whoa.  Where did that time go? Across the past

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  • Podcast Friday: Sharing a Secret

    I’m going to share a secret.  I get nervous…really nervous when I’m talking about my book, “Surviving Sue”.  Even when I’m chatting with my dear friend Wynne Leon on our podcast.  I’m continuing to learn how to talk about the motivation to write my mom’s story… about living with her and persevering.  Yes, surviving.  The

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  • Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Writing for Resilience

    I’m pretty excited.  It’s only January 11 and the new year is full of surprises. Good ones! I wrote about Wynne and I being included in the CWA (Chicago Writers Association) Speakers Bureau last week and I’ve already had a nibble on one of the offerings – about navigating elder care.  Woo-hoo! Yet another opportunity

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  • Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Speakers Bureau

    Two years ago, I’d just finished my experiment.  My writing experiment.  My audacious and scary commitment to write 500 -1000 words a day as the story about my mom, Sue, poured out of me.  What began on October 1, 2021 as a lark, a project about writing for resilience and healing, turned into a book. 

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  • Enjoying the Moment!

    Amazon rankings are like shooting stars — or roller coasters…fast, fleeting with scary twists and turns. But for the moment, I’m sitting pretty. Me…and “Surviving Sue” hanging out at #29. Cheers to supportive readers! Vicki ❤️

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  • Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Heartfelt Feedback

    I think one of the reasons I wrote about my mom, Sue, was to receive support and recognition for the effort and triumph of literally surviving Sue.  If you’d asked me as I was wrote, I would’ve shrugged off that thought because I wanted to believe I was writing for posterity.  To bring clarity for

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  • Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Sue Had Rizz

    Have you heard? The youthful Gen Z term,“rizz”, was crowned 2023’s word of the year by the publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary: What it means: For those of us who haven’t heard the term before, “rizz” is slang for “style, charm, or attractiveness” or “the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner,” according to

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  • Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Holiday Hopefulness

    “We’ve all survived a Sue in our lives in one way or another.  It’s a personal narrative that hits our hearts.”  -Elizabeth I love Elizabeth’s feedback and wisdom. Yes — maybe your nemesis wasn’t named “Sue” but increasingly as readers dig into “Surviving Sue” I receive input that the challenges I wrote about are familiar.

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  • Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Reasons to Celebrate!

    I love reader feedback.  Love it.  The hardest part about writing, at times, was wondering whether or not I was accurately conveying the intense emotions – the full range of life with my mom, Sue, that bobbed from hilarity to terror.  Sometimes in a blink.  I worried about giving enough of the backstory – just

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  • Podcast Friday! Hot Tips for Writers

    Oh…this was fun!  Another visit with our friend and writer Brian Hannon talking about our common interests in writing about families.  I love a good ‘tip list’ to keep me on track and inspire my writing and Brian found a gem of a resource, which he shares in this episode. I can’t lie, the tip

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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 BureauWriting 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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