Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column - April 1, 2022

Dear Reader,

We're celebrating National Library Week at the book club next week. This year's theme is "Connect with Your Library." Send me an email about your local library or if you're a librarian, how has the library changed in your community? Everyone has a feel-good story about their library or a special librarian, share it with readers and librarians who read at the book club.

Every day, during National Library Week, I'll be giving away fun prizes to folks who work at libraries. But who wants to wait? Let's get the party started early. Enter my first drawing, today, and you might win a "Bookmarks are for Quitters," 15 ounce enamel mug. To enter, click here.

"Hello Suzanne, I want to share with you why I love the library. As a child and teenager, I loved to read all the time. I had an aunt who didn't drive, but loved to read. She didn't want to ask anyone to bring her to the library, so she made arrangements for the bookmobile to visit her. As a result, during the summer we would all run next door to get books. As a parent with young children, I took my children to the library for programs often. It was a great way to keep them entertained and not have to spend lots of money. Now for the last 12 years, I've worked at our local library. I am not a librarian. I am a circulation assistant, and I plan programs for adults (I started out in children's, which was fun, too).

I am so glad I applied for this job. It has been the most fulfilling and rewarding job. I love to connect with our patrons, share book recommendations, and help them find just what they need. And, I am around books all the time. The only drawback is that my 'Must Read' list is so long, I will have to live to be 1000 years old to read them all. I love reading your column every day. Thanks for letting me share." – Brenda G., East Regional Library, Destrehan, LA

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader Column - March 31, 2022

Dear Reader,

"Dear Suzanne, I enjoy your emails, and I love your writings. How would I prepare for your annual, Write a DearReader Contest? Do you have certain themes, topics and word limits? I'm very interested, as I am a newly retired educator who is enjoying writing."

-- Fondly, Jennifer S.

(Suzanne replies:) Congratulations on your retirement! The contest page from last year's Write a DearReader Contest won't be updated until August (launch date August 22nd), but the guidelines will be the same as previous years. The guidelines are below and to read previous winning entries, click here.

1. Maximum word count is 650 words.
2. Submit original entries that have not been previously published.
3. Feel free to submit more than one entry for us to consider.
4. You must be at least 18 years old to enter.
5. Your story will be judged on style and content.
6. Collaborative teams are limited to two people.
7. You must include the name and mailing address of your local library with your original entry in order for them to be eligible to receive the 50% matching, cash prize.

Jennifer, I would encourage you to get in the habit of writing something every day, even if it's only for 15 minutes. Don't worry about thinking ahead of time, 'What topic should I write about?' Instead ask yourself, 'What am I thinking about this very minute?' You could start by typing today's "to-do" list and if you keep your fingers moving on the keys, after that free flowing ideas will appear on the screen.

Your body is a quick study. After a couple of weeks of writing a few minutes every day, when you sit down in front of your computer and put your fingers on the keys, your mind will know exactly what it's supposed to do, because it's been in training every day.

I look forward to reading your entry this year.

Get ready to celebrate National Library Week at the book club, April 3-9. This year's theme is "Connect with Your Library." Send me an email about your local library or if you're a librarian, how has the library changed in your community? Everyone has a feel-good story about their library or a special librarian, share it with readers and librarians who read at the book club.

Every day, during National Library Week, I'll be giving away fun prizes. Celebrate!

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: With so many new books out every week, we promise this title deserves your attention:

(FICTION)
JUST ONE WISH by Carly Phillips

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

This month's Penguin Classics book is The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.

Dear Reader Column - March 29, 2022

Dear Reader,

Today's the last day you can enter to win the March Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway. Three lucky book club readers will receive some of my homemade chocolate chip cookies delivered right to their front doors. I'm ready to bake for you. To see last month's winners and to enter the drawing, click here.

Rabbi Toba Spitzer is today's guest at the book club. A popular teacher of courses on Judaism and economic justice, she has received the honor of being included in Newsweek's Top 50 Rabbis in America list and the 2010 Forward list of 50 Female Rabbis Who Are Making A Difference. Since 1997, she has been the spiritual leader of Congregation Dorshei Tzedek in Newton, MA. Her new book is, God Is Here: Reimagining the Divine.

Email Toba at: trademarketing@stmartins.com

In 2007, I received an email at work that I almost deleted. It began, "Dear Rabbi," which sounded sort of anonymous. I thought it might be spam. But I read on, and it turned out the email was from a literary agent at a very large talent agency. He had found some of my sermons online, and thought I should write a book. I was busy being a congregational rabbi and wasn't really thinking about writing a book. We emailed a bit and had a phone conversation, and I told him I'd think about it. He was based in L.A. and I told him, if you're ever in Boston, give me a call. And that was that.

About a year and a half later, I got another email, from another literary agent at a talent agency. She had also found my sermons online, and thought I should write a book. When she mentioned me to her business partner, it turned out that he was the one who had emailed me first.

While I don't believe in a God that micromanages human lives, I had to admit that something mysterious was afoot here. The universe seemed to be telling me I needed to write a book. The duo of literary agents had moved to NYC, and I took the train down one day to have lunch with them. I couldn't quite figure out what kind of book they wanted me to write. "Like your sermons!" they said. But I give sermons on lots of topics, I replied. What exactly is it that you think I have to say in a book? After an hour or so of conversation, I realized: "I think you want me to write a book about God."

That conversation happened back in 2011. In the years since, I began and completed a journey that resulted in my book, God Is Here: Reimagining the Divine. I wrote the book because, after discovering metaphor theory and cognitive linguistics, I realized that helping spiritually-inclined people who aren't so sure about God delve into ancient, non-human metaphors for the divine could literally change lives. With my congregants, I explored how we might bring metaphors like Water and Place and Rock off of the pages of ancient texts and into daily life. The results of our exploration were powerful, but there were only so many people I could teach in person. A book, I hoped, would help me share with many more people of all backgrounds the texts and practices that I had found to be so transformative. Writing this book has been its own spiritual journey, and my sincere hope is that it brings some measure of insight and healing to our broken, beautiful world.

-- Toba Spitzer

Email Toba at, trademarketing@stmartins.com

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

This month's Penguin Classics book is The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.

Dear Reader Column - March 22, 2022

Dear Reader,

Today's guest author, Priscilla Masters, was born in Halifax and adopted into a multi-racial family of seven. Brought up in South Wales she moved to Birmingham in the 1970's and trained as a registered nurse at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Birmingham.

She has produced more than thirty crime novels and one children's book. In addition to the series featuring Coroner Martha Gunn and a forensic psychologist Dr Claire Roget, Priscilla has written the DI Joanna Piercy series since 1995. The latest title in that series is the newly released, Almost a Whisper.

Priscilla has two sons, two grandsons and lives in a Victorian ex-laundry cottage on the Staffordshire/Shropshire border.

Please do contact Priscilla via her website and say "Hello." 

To enter Priscilla's book drawing (you could win one of three copies of Almost a Whisper), send an email with your mailing address to: info@severnhouse.com

Priscilla Masters on a First Date

As a first date it could have ended a lot better but not much worse, to be truthful.

I was a first-year student nurse in Birmingham 1970 when I was invited to a party by one of the medical students. So far so good. Except...

My date for the night had heard that the famous clock tower, Old Joe, was undergoing some restoration. A little earlier in the evening he'd recced the tower which was normally padlocked and found a small opening in one of the doors where a panel had been removed. He reckoned that I was just small enough to squeeze through and open the door from the inside.

Old Joe aka The Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Tower, is a clock tower and campanile, or bell tower, located in Chancellor's court at the University of Birmingham. According to Wikipedia it is the tallest free-standing clock tower in the world, although I didn't know that at the time. The university lists it as 361 feet tall. The clock dial measures 17 feet in diameter; the length of the clock's hands are 10 and 6 ft, and the bell weighs in at 5 tons.

A prominent landmark in Birmingham, the grade II listed tower can be seen for miles around the campus as well as from the surrounding roads, and has become synonymous with the University itself.

And my new boyfriend thought it would be a nice start to the evening to pop up to the top, ring the bells and maybe tinker with the hands before heading to the party.

I wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion in lime green hotpants, wedge heels and false eyelashes and I'm not over fond of heights. But luckily the heights thing wasn't a problem as we couldn't look down as we climbed and climbed and climbed, finally reaching a platform. A couple of hangers on had joined the pre-party party and had clanged the bells (I don't know if any of you have read Dorothy L Sayers The Nine Tailors?) Another mischief maker had 'played around' with the clock hands causing confusion to the commuters the next morning on their way to work!

It might not surprise you to know that we didn't get to the party. We were "arrested" by the University Police but released by the Selly Oak Force who between incredulity and guffaws cautioned us and let us go.

What might surprise you more is that I actually married the guy!

-- Priscilla Masters
Enter a drawing to win one of three copies of Almost a Whisper. Send an email with your mailing address to: info@severnhouse.com

You may contact Priscilla via her website: https://www.priscillamasters.co.uk/contact-priscilla-masters/

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

This month's Penguin Classics book is The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.

Dear Reader Column - March 17, 2022

Dear Reader,

Today I'm sharing the final Honorable Mention piece from the 2021 Write a DearReader Contest, written by Alice Sarnowski. It truly was a privilege to read all of the entries, whether they were chosen as winners or not. Keep writing, the 2022 Write a DearReader Contest launches this August.

Thank you so much Alice for sharing your story with us.

THE WITCH, THE NUN AND THE AUNT

I grew up in a wonderland of forest and farm animals, but I dreamed of great adventures and travels. I incorporated into my life scenes from Bewitched with "Samantha," jetting around the world with The Flying Nun and being side-by-side with my glamorous Aunt Helen. I made my family sit through numerous plays as I acted out wild tales. All three characters had top billing, but my aunt's scenes were based on word of mouth stories I had heard and witnessed over many years.

My aunt grew up during the depression and those stories seem surreal in this time frame. Shoes were only worn in the snow, to school and church. There was always a race in the summer as to who could toughen up the bottom of their feet the fastest for the numerous softball games and hiking trips. Swimming was in the salt quarry and everyone in the family was picked up in the dark at 4 a.m. by the local farmer to pick onions in the early morning hours before the heat became oppressive.

Mattresses were made of straw, running water from the outdoor pump had to be carried inside and all food was grown and preserved. There was only a phone at the general store and the highlight of the day would be when the iceman delivered shaved ice to the neighborhood children and the wagon would be followed by a group of animated kids as I acted out the Pied Piper and his followers.

Another play I acted out was with the prop of the flying nun. My beautiful aunt caught the eye of a dashing race car driver. I would act out a scene of hanging onto the cape of the nun and we would soar over the race car drivers giving a current of air so my uncle would win all the races. My aunt and uncle became friends of another racer by the name of Paul Newman. When my uncle quit the racing circuit to raise his children, he kept a P.O. Box number so his correspondence with Paul would be confidential from the prying eyes and ears of the town. He never breathed a word of what was in the letters and destroyed them so he would not betray his famous friend.

My aunt and uncle were fans of camping and traversed over all of the United States, Mexico and many Caribbean islands. From postcards and stories I would act out their adventures of scuba diving, deep sea fishing and hot air balloon excursions. I would always do research about where they went so my props would be appropriate to the area they visited for my plays. I would employ the tricks of my beloved Samantha and with her help and the twinkle of her nose she would transport me to their campsite so I was a first hand witness. My poor puppy Roscoe had to wear extra whiskers to play the bewitched Samantha who sent me on my adventures.

Every once in a while I would be asked to accompany this exciting band of travelers as a guest. I kept pinching myself that this wasn't make believe. Once on a camping trip to Door County Wisconsin we witnessed the Northern lights. The ground got a shower of my enchanted tears as I could not believe this magic happened in real life, more than I could have imagined.

My aunt in her 90's is as spry and adventuresome as ever and always has a toothbrush and bag packed for the next adventure. Helen still jets around the world and always has a smile and her illuminating personality draws others into her sphere of excitement. I still have dreams of adventures with my three leading ladies--the witch, the aunt and the nun.

-- Alice Sarnowski
Honorable Mention, 2021 Write a DearReader Contest

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: With so many new books out every week, we promise these titles deserve your attention:

(FICTION)
LISTENING STILL by Anne Griffin

(FICTION)
THE WAR OF TWO QUEENS by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

This month's Penguin Classics book is The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.

Dear Reader Column - March 11, 2022

Dear Reader,

Today our guest writer is Jennifer Schell, one of the 2021 Honorable Mentions from my Write a DearReader Contest. Thank you so much Jennifer for sharing your story with us.

Flat as a Board

Growing up, I was the tall, lanky, awkward girl. I hit a growth spurt early and arrived at my adult height of 5 foot 7 in grade seven. Unfortunately, other parts of my body did not get the memo to start developing until much later. Relentless taunts from the boys were common occurrences throughout junior and senior high school. 'Flat as a board, shaped like a ruler, bodybuilder chest,' yes, I had heard it all. Even my family liked to poke fun at me. One year they bought me a Far Side cartoon birthday card about the girl who wished for boobs, and two goofy men appeared when her wish was granted. 'Be careful what you wish for,' they teased. My lack of development was a joke to everyone but me. Oh, how I longed to be a buxom girl. To have curves that girls envied and guys admired. All my friends had developed, why hadn't I?

The answer to my life's biggest problem came to me as I was perusing the glossy pages of a "Cosmopolitan" magazine. There, on the second to last page, was the advertisement that was going to be the answer to my prayers. I couldn't believe the before and after pictures of the models whose busts did indeed seem to grow due to the bust enhancement pills. This must be real, I thought. I didn't hesitate. I purchased a money order and waited for my miracle to arrive. They say a sucker is born every minute, and indeed I was the sucker now with an empty wallet and a flat unchanged chest.

Thankfully one does not stay in high school brain forever or body. My early twenties were a time of change for my bony body as pregnancy hormones surged through me. Expanding stomach and swelling breasts delighted me. I came to admire this body of mine growing a miracle inside of it and expanding daily to accommodate life. The birth of my daughter brought many changes to my perspective on my body. My fingers etched the silvery purple stretch marks, and I marveled. My body had strength. My body had a purpose. I would celebrate this strength, and I would teach my daughter to do likewise. I look back over my life and consider the wasted worry and tears over being flat as a board.

-- Jennifer Schell
Honorable Mention, 2021 Write a DearReader Contest

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

Looking for a great, funny read for ages 6-10? Kids will love Minerva Taylor's ALIEN MOM featuring a mom who's turned into a strange looking alien and her two sons wondering how to get her back to normal! For a chance to win a free copies, to talk with the author, and more, see http://www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz.

 

 

 

This month's Penguin Classics book is The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.

Dear Reader Column - March 8, 2022

Dear Reader,

Every other month I feature a Penguin Classics title for you to sample. The Classics are timeless books. Many people feel they each depict such powerful life situations and lessons, that they deserve a special place on the bookshelf and in our hearts.

This month's Penguin Classics is Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises.

Read this short sample and enter (below) to win a copy for yourself:

BOOK I

CHAPTER 1

Robert Cohn was once middleweight boxing champion of Princeton. Do not think that I am very much impressed by that as a boxing title, but it meant a lot to Cohn. He cared nothing for boxing, in fact he disliked it, but he learned it painfully and thoroughly to counteract the feeling of inferiority and shyness he had felt on being treated as a Jew at Princeton. There was a certain inner comfort in knowing he could knock down anybody who was snooty to him, although, being very shy and a thoroughly nice boy, he never fought except in the gym. He was Spider Kelly's star pupil. Spider Kelly taught all his young gentlemen to box like featherweights, no matter whether they weighed one hundred and five or two hundred and five pounds. But it seemed to fit Cohn. He was really very fast. He was so good that Spider promptly overmatched him and got his nose permanently flattened. This increased Cohn's distaste for boxing, but it gave him a certain satisfaction of some strange sort, and it certainly improved his nose. In his last year at Princeton he read too much and took to wearing spectacles. I never met any one of his class who remembered him. They did not even remember that he was middleweight boxing champion.

I mistrust all frank and simple people, especially when their stories hold together, and I always had a suspicion that perhaps Robert Cohn had never been middleweight boxing champion, and that perhaps a horse had stepped on his face, or that maybe his mother had been frightened or seen something, or that he had, maybe, bumped into something as a young child, but I finally had somebody verify the story from Spider Kelly. Spider Kelly not only remembered Cohn. He had often wondered what had become of him.

To continue reading the sample excerpt and enter the drawing to win a copy of the Penguin Classics, The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway, click here.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader Column - March 1, 2022

Dear Reader,

Today's guest author, Benjamin Gilmer, is a family medicine physician but still a teacher at heart for UNC medical students and MAHEC family medicine residents. He continues to be a pilgrim in the mountains of western North Carolina where he lives with wife and two children. He has written his first book, The Other Dr. Gilmer: Two Men, a Murder, and an Unlikely Fight for Justice, which is being released today.

The book is the complete story that he first told to millions on This American Life about starting his life as a physician and following in the footsteps of a presumed murderer with the same name. Benjamin has committed the last ten years to understanding the other Dr. Gilmer, and advocating for his release from prison. He is producing a feature film along with Concordia Films that speaks to this advocacy pilgrimage and why we should treat the mentally ill, not incarcerate them.

Contact Dr Gilmer via https://benjamingilmer.com/contact/

I needed to be a pilgrim!

Back in the 90's, while trying to sort myself out, I decided to become a pilgrim. At the time, I didn't understand the significance of walking a thousand miles from Arles, France to the tomb of St. James in Santiago, Spain. Twenty years later, I finally understand.

The Camino de Santiago is an ancient pilgrimage, one that was well-travelled during the middle-ages and likely the most significant unifying element in Europe's history. People walked from every corner of Europe to Santiago. Some traveled for penitence, others walked as a spiritual journey, but all were in search of something. My walk was a portal, a transition into a new life from teacher to doctor. I was thirty and a late-bloomer to medicine. Life was complex, and I was about to give up everything I loved: my job as a teacher, scientific endeavors, and a relationship. So, I decided to walk.

The Camino has been revealing universal signs to pilgrims for hundreds of years and that was what I needed--a mystical sign to reveal my new path, and to soften this life transition. Only days after returning home, I was to start medical school, leaving behind my previous life as a teacher and neurobiologist and a woman I loved.

My first realization.

Each literal step of the Camino offered something: a breath, a pause, an experience. After a decade preparing for medical school, I realized I had never slowed down, not for a moment. The Way of St. James offered space to experience what I hadn't seen in so long, and to have a different tactile experience with the world: birds that I could finally hear singing, the whisperings of the wind, the heat of the sun at every angle throughout the day, the cries of muscles that had not experienced walking 20 miles every day, and voices that emanated from the silence of my own brain.

I was awoken.

Thinking of the contemporary life I have chosen as a physician and writer, I dream about my pilgrimage experiences often and deeply cherish my Camino's many gifts. I yearn for walks, and have had twenty years to reflect on the importance of being still, and listening.

Writing the Other Dr. Gilmer was another Camino. Doing so required persistence, and forced me to be reflective again and open my eyes to the universal, but also to myself. Each page was another step forward, another opportunity to experience with open eyes.

I am grateful for the teachings of both journeys.

-- Benjamin Gilmer

Contact Dr Gilmer via https://benjamingilmer.com/contact/

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

SAPPHIRE SUNSET (FICTION) by C. Travis Rice

Allow me to introduce you to C. Travis Rice, the alter ego I invented so I could write the kind of big, sexy, beachy sunny romance novels that have provided me such escapist pleasure during these difficult times--only in my version, the heroes are both men. This is the first in series in which handsome heroes release the shame that blocks their heart's desires and find sexy happily-ever-afters in the process. Your room is waiting, and they all have an ocean view.

I'm giving away five copies, click on the link to Authorbuzz and the book jacket to enter.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on SAPPHIRE SUNSET to read more and to email author C. Travis Rice, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column - February 22, 2022

Dear Reader,

Today's guest author, Laurie Zaleski, is the Founder and President of Funny Farm, a rescue and sanctuary located in Mays Landing, NJ. Inspired by her mother and her love of animals, Laurie has led her rescue farm to become one of the largest animal rescues in the northeast. Funny Farm has earned many awards including the Top 10 places to visit in all of New Jersey. Laurie is also the Founder and CEO of Art-Z Graphics and a licensed pilot. She has been named a New Jersey Heartland Hero, is listed in the 2019 Who's Who of Professional Women, and has received numerous awards and acknowledgements for her work to save animals and educate the public about animal abuse. Her memoir, Funny Farm: My Unexpected Life with 600 Rescue Animals, goes on sale today.

Laurie is giving away two copies of Funny Farm: My Unexpected Life with 600 Rescue Animals. To enter the drawing, send an email your preferred mailing address to: trademarketing@stmartins.com

Find out more about Funny Farm Rescue and Sanctuary at: https://funnyfarmrescue.org/

Please welcome Laurie Zaleski...

One of my many passions is flying. Ever since I was a small girl, I have always been fascinated by anything that flies from small bugs, to giant swans, to huge aircraft.

Another passion I have is animal rescue. One day, a lady brought me an orphaned 2-day-old baby turkey I named Rosie.

Rosie lived in my house with the dogs and cats. She followed me everywhere, even jumping up on my lap to take her little naps. There were no if, ands, or turkey-butts about it. I was her mom.

My friends would invite me out to a restaurant and they would all carry beautiful purses. Mine was a little different. It had a special space just for Rosie and another compartment for her food because she ate every 2 hours. After a while, they heard little chirps coming from my purse and I would just tell them the truth, which was much better than any story I could have made up. I just said, "I have a baby turkey in there!" They rolled their eyes and said, "Only Laurie!"

I knew it was my job to teach Rosie how to fly, after all, she is a bird. I have a small Cessna 150 I nicknamed "The Blonde Bomber." It was time to combine my passions, animals and airplanes!

As we flew, I put her up on the dashboard so she could see out the windows. Rosie loved every minute of it. My plan was to push the yoke abruptly down causing the airplane to be completely weightless, at least for a few seconds. As a kid, I called it the "tummy tickler" much like the feeling you get on a roller coaster.

Each time I would climb a little, and then push the yoke in. Sure enough, Rosie's little wings began to flap, and flap. After about 3 times, she learned to fly! The more she'd fly, the more she'd chirp! We did this several times until I determined, she, herself, was "airworthy."

Since then, I have had many animals in my little Cessna. There were a variety of missions from animal rescues to visits of animals I had in special hospitals. At the time, there were very few women pilots.

Certainly, I worked hard to learn to fly and nothing was handed to me. Like most things in my life, I knew if something was going to happen, I couldn't sit around wishing. With the determination I learned from my mother, I knew that absolutely nothing was impossible!

-- Laurie Zaleski

To enter my drawing for one of two copies of my book, Funny Farm: My Unexpected Life with 600 Rescue Animals, send an email to: trademarketing@stmartins.com

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader Column - February 17, 2022

Dear Reader,

Today our guest writer is, Laura Shaffer, one of the 2021 Honorable Mentions from my Write a DearReader Contest. Thank you so much Laura for sharing your story with us.

I am the youngest of four girls. If our mother asked, "Who broke the vase?," we responded by birth order.

Sarah, the oldest, said, "Lisa."

Lisa said, "Becky."

Becky said, "Laura."

I had no one's name to say. Until the day I created Mary Lousa. If anything got broken or misplaced, Mary Lousa did it. She took the brunt of my childhood misdeeds. Our parents didn't condone lying, but I think they knew I needed Mary Lousa for a while.

Mary Lousa first came to my parents' home when I was about eight. I can't remember how old I was when she disappeared. After my sisters and I moved and had families of our own, Mary Lousa resurfaced once again.

After a family gathering, my mother emailed us something like this:

It was great seeing everybody. Now that you all have gone, I am missing a few things. My blue knitting needles and small silver scissors. They were both by my big chair. Did anyone see them?

We responded with four "nos." Someone typed one name: "Mary Lousa."

Mary Lousa was an active member of our family once again. She took the strangest things. She hid the remote control, a throw pillow, and a can opener. Usually, she returned the items to out-of-reach places, making us scratch our heads and ask, 'Why would she put the remote control under the sofa?'

Once while I cat sat, Mary Loosa stole the kitty litter scooper. I never did find it.

Our mother sent us another email after a long weekend visit. In the subject line, she wrote "Mary Loosa on the Loose."

Mum typed, "That girl has been busy."

Trash talking began as emails flew back and forth.

"She is so bad."

"What a slut!"

That message went too far. "Don't call her names," I typed. "I created her. I will defend her."

"When did you start defending a thief?" another sister retorted.

Poor Mary Lousa/Loosa. Even with the name calling, she insisted on visiting our mother's house. Her antics halted during COVID, however. She stayed away like everybody else.

Once restrictions were lifted, Mary Lousa reappeared after we visited our mother. Fortunately, she only removed items from one table to another.

As adults, I believe Mary Lousa reflects a bit of each of us. She helps us to laugh at ourselves and understand the need for make believe when we take ourselves too seriously.

This summer, my 93-year-old mother, a rug hooker, completed a pre-stamped piece. A young girl about twelve faces the sea. We can only see the back of her turquoise dress. The wind whips her black hair about her shoulders. Appropriately, Mum has titled the piece "Mary Loosa." To Mary Loosa's left is a cliff. On the other side of it, I imagine Mary Loosa has pitched an item or two from my mother's house, such as a kitty litter scooper. If I listen closely, I can hear her giggles float out to sea.

--- Laura Shaffer
Honorable Mention, 2021 Write a DearReader Contest

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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RACING WITH ALOHA: An Inspiring Journey from Humble Barefoot Maui Boy to Champion in the Water by Fred Haywood

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