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Dear Reader,
Today's guest author, Kim Gruenenfelder, writes...
"I live in Los Angeles with my husband and son, and I continue to avoid anything even remotely resembling a real job. I've written A Total Waste of Makeup, Misery Loves Cabernet, There's Cake in My Future, Keep Calm and Carry a Big Drink, and Love the Wine You're With. In addition to my novels, I'm also a screenwriter.
Welcome Kim to the book club...
Eciah
I needed a word for my pregnancy test. That night in 2001 when my lifelong dream of being a parent suddenly (and a little unexpectedly) came true. Why wasn't there a word in the English language for when you realize you're pregnant? It's such a pivotal moment, how do we not have a word for it? I quickly checked other languages. Nothing. And believe me, I looked!
A few days into my quest for a word about future parenthood, I talked to a writer friend without children, who pointed out that for him, my pregnancy test was a phone call. His dream wasn't parenthood, it was to be write movies. So his version of two pink lines came the day his agent called him at his temp job to tell him he had sold a script for half a million dollars. He suddenly went from office temp to well paid screenwriter.
"Okay," I argued. "Then why don't we have a word for that phone call?" Lots of people have a moment in their careers when their dream comes true. Where's that word? Back to Google research: nothing in English or any other language.
Talking to friends over the next few days made me realize I couldn't even limit this to a test or a phone call: one friend talked about the night her husband proposed. One talked about the day she met the love of her life. Everyone's moment looked different. Why, in the novel I was writing (Which became Love the Wine You're With) I even had a scene where one of the women talks to her friends about sinking her savings into a bar being her life changing moment--and yet I had no word for her either.
And then it hit me. (Occasionally I do get flashes of inspiration). I didn't need a word for pregnancy test. Or a phone call. Or a proposal. I needed a word for the moment when that happens. When everything changed.
And then I had it: eciah. The moment when Everything Changes In A Heartbeat.
E (Everything), C (Changes), I (In), A (A), H (Heartbeat)
I had my word.
And – bonus! - the moment I created the word “eciah” became a small eciah. I started a website, eciah.com, for people to share their stories of life changing moments. I asked friends (and people at parties) what their eciahs were, and boy did I learn a lot about my friends and family!
So what's your eciah?
--Kim Gruenenfelder
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
***** AUTHORBUZZ *****
THE MOURNING PARADE (Fiction) by Dawn Reno Langley
This is my seventh novel, and the story closest to my heart. Its themes of love and forgiveness, grief and hope will resonate with anyone who has lost someone they couldn't imagine living without. Through the eyes of the main character, equine veterinarian Natalie DeAngelo, this deeply emotional novel explores the capacity of a mother's love, the challenge of overcoming a devastating loss, and the long, tiresome journey to healing.
Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE MOURNING PARADE to read more and to email author Dawn Reno Langley, you'll get a reply.
* This month's Penguin Classics book is Devil on the Cross, by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Click here to start reading, and be sure to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag.
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