Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column - March 4, 2022

Dear Reader,

Book club reader Nancy G. sent an email that brought me to tears.. "Suzanne, my mom passed away four years ago today, at 92. She was known as the cookie lady--she gave cookies to everyone, just as you do. Waitresses, parking lot attendants, neighbors, handymen…. At her funeral, I asked for a show of hands from everyone who had eaten one of Mom's cookies, and virtually all of the hundred or so people in attendance raised a hand. In lieu of flowers, we asked people to take or send cookies to someone in her memory.

Thanks for sweetening my thoughts of her today with your cookie stories. Keep up the good work!" – Nancy G., Marysville Public Library

(Suzanne replies:) Nancy, reading your email made me think about what happened at my mother's funeral. We had a very distant relationship. I never really got to know much about my mother's past, or what her day-to-day life was like in the small town where I grew up. So I was shocked when I stood in the receiving line at her funeral and almost everyone who walked by told me, "Oh, your mom used to bake cookies and she was always giving them away." ‘Baking cookies and giving them away?' It must be in the genes. All these years of a distant mother/daughter relationship and we could have been talking about cookies.

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.

* Congratulations to the winners of the February Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway. I'll be sending out cookies to these lucky readers, real soon: Gwen S., Portsmouth Public Library, Elissa I., and Donna S., Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson City.

And Congratulations to the winners of The Little Women Devotional by Guest Author Rachel Dodge: Ann B., Sheri R., Erika S. and Darien M.

Dear Reader Column - March 3, 2022

Dear Reader,

I'm not as tough as I used to be and sometimes it makes me feel like a failure--like I'm settling for less. I've always prided myself in being strong. People admire you, "Look at her, nothing fazes her."

Being tough was something I learned from my mother. My father was an alcoholic and even though my mother was a woman who struggled with her self-esteem, somewhere along the way she latched onto how to be strong, how to be tough. She never talked about it, but I knew from watching her, that my mother felt she could always find a way to do what needed to be done. And she did. But being tough, it took everything my mother had, and unfortunately it left her with nothing to give back, except a daily lesson about how to be tough.

I used to be angry, where was my mother's softer side? Why were the words, "I love you," and "I'm proud of you," so difficult for her to say. But then, when I thought about the day-to-day things that happened in our family when I was growing up, I realized there wasn't any room for her to let down. You can't be soft when you're struggling to survive.

Having a sense, that I will be okay, that I can make it through no matter how bad things might get--I have my mother to thank for that gift. And through the years I've come to realize that it really was a gift. Love comes in many forms. Sometimes it's disguised, looking rough around the edges, but being tough was the skill that got my mother through her life and she wanted to make sure that I made it through, too. She did indeed love me and she passed along the best she had to give. And I thank her.

I'm not angry any more, because now I understand. I've taken my mother's gift and softened it, which means I'm not as tough as I used to be, and it feels pretty good. I wish my mother would have had a chance to feel it, too.

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:

(NONFICTION)
DON'T JUST SIT THERE, DO NOTHING by Jessie Asya Kanzer

(FICTION)
SAPPHIRE SUNSET by C. Travis Rice

(FICTION)
CHANGE WITH ME by Kristen Proby

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

Dear Reader Column - March 2, 2022

Dear Reader,

It's Tuesday and I just finished "cookie-ing" the sanitation workers who pick up my trash promptly at 13 minutes to 7 every Tuesday morning. The actual trash guys pickup first, and the recycle truck follows close behind. I've created a toolbox of things that help keep me feeling happy and looking at life in a positive way, and handing a bag of cookies to the trash guys on Tuesday morning, is one of those tools.

The act of baking and giving away cookies creates a warm, fuzzy kind of feeling inside of me. Actually it's therapy, because it changes my day. If someone is unkind to me, and I keep thinking and rethinking about what happened, I need to do something quickly so I can let it go. For me, I've discovered the best thing I can do is to start baking, so I have a freezer full of cookies on hand, for any 911 Good Deed Emergency.

I'm blessed, because when I'm frazzled and need cookie therapy, most of the time opportunities to 'give,' come to me. When my FedEx man shows up at the door he waits a little after he rings the bell (because he loves my cookies), so it's always an opportunity to give.

But sometimes I have to go looking for opportunities to give. Like the other day, when I was feeling overwhelmed and desperately in need of cookie therapy, yep, there he was. I could see him through my front window. A street crew was working in my neighborhood and the worker standing across the street, seemed to be keeping an eye on a big pipe, just waiting around until the rest of the crew worked their way down to him.

I desperately needed therapy--it was a 911 Good Deed Emergency for sure. So I took a bag of cookies out of the freezer and grabbed a bottle of water. But as I was walking out the door, I thought to myself, 'This is kind of weird, even for me. What is he going to think? I can't tell him I need to give away cookies in order to regain my sanity,' and of course I didn't. I simply told him I baked yesterday, it looked like he had a lot of waiting to do, so I thought he might like some cookies and cold water.

"Chocolate chip cookies! Thank you, thank you. These remind me of the cookies my grandmother used to make" and he smiled.

Mission accomplished--for both of us.

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.

CHANGE WITH ME (FICTION) by Kristen Proby

I'm so excited for you to read my all-new novella in my With Me In Seattle series. I just love the idea of someone walking into a new rental after traveling across the United States,  only to discover that someone else has also rented the same apartment! And what if that someone just happened to be the most famous man on Earth? The sexy shenanigans that ensue are just too much fun. I hope you enjoy watching these two find friendship...and love.

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 CHANGE WITH ME to read more and to email author Kristen Proby, you'll get a reply.

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 28, 2022

Dear Reader,

I worry way too much. If you've been reading my daily column for a while, you obviously know it's not the first time I've fessed up to being a worrywart. Hmm, am I using an incorrect spelling? Is it worrywart? Or worrywort? (Great, something else to worry about.)

Even Google couldn't squelch my spelling worry--seems you can take your pick. It depends on whose entry you want to believe. But I did find some worrywart comfort as I was researching the origin of worrywart. You know how if you have some affliction and you find someone else who has it, you're not happy they suffer from the same thing you do, but for some reason there is a bit of comfort in discovering you're not the only one.

Well I discovered there are oodles of us worrywarts, but we shouldn't worry that we're to blame. In researching worrywart, I think that cartoonist J. R. Williams is somewhat responsible for our worry afflictions. Mr. Williams took little, every day worries and put them centerstage in a popular cartoon strip called Worry Wart back in the 40s. Worry Wart was the name of a character who caused others to worry. Yes, Worry Wart stayed worry-free but only because he passed his worries onto all the people around him, including my dad who loved to read the funnies, and then my dad passed the worrywart thing on to me. Okay, so I don't know that for sure, but at the moment it sounds comforting that my worrying isn't all my fault.

"Help yourself not to worry," therapists tell us worriers. And one of the techniques they preach is, "Don't worry about worrying, just accept the fact that you are worrying."

So I'm trying not to worry, that I'm worrying, instead I'll acknowledge the fact that I'm worrying--but isn't that the problem with worrying? I know I'm worrying, I acknowledge I'm worrying and I just keep on worrying. This is all getting too complicated for me. This column is going nowhere. I'm worried that I can't make this work today...so I'm outta here.

Talk to you tomorrow.

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.

DON'T JUST SIT THERE, DO NOTHING (NONFICTION) by Jessie Asya Kanzer

I wanna share a life-changing secret with you: We don't get what we want; we get what we are. Join me on a journey of healing and creation where we use ancient teachings to tap into the Great Power within us--so that our life can finally reflect our innate greatness! My book, Don't Just Sit There, DO NOTHING: Healing, Chilling, and Living with the Tao Te Ching, is the work of a lifetime. In it, I share my own story of profound transformation and help you shift your perception as well, so you too can shift your life.

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

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on DON'T JUST SIT THERE, DO NOTHING to read more and to email author Jessie Asya Kanzer, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column - February 25, 2022

Dear Reader,

It's time to enter this month's Chocolate Cookie Giveaway. Every month I bake for three lucky readers. To enter the cookie drawing, and see photos of young cookie bakers and read a testimonial, from one of last month's cookie winners, click here.

Book club readers have been sharing their favorite soup recipes. Today Jane R., shares one of her family favorites, and she suggests the soup goes perfect with blueberry muffins, so I've included my favorite blueberry muffin recipe (below).

"Hi Suzanne, our family likes soups of all kinds. My husband and I were born and raised 'up north' and it wasn't until after our college graduations that we began to move south. Even though we've lived in Texas for nearly 40 years, soup is still one of our favorite meals--summer and winter.

One of the things I like best about making a pot of soup (besides the delicious leftovers and how it makes the kitchen smell so good!) is the fact that soup recipes are very forgiving. If you want to add more of something or even substitute an ingredient, it is usually a pretty safe thing to do and that holds true for both of these recipes as well. I hope you enjoy them as much as our family does!" – Jane R.

CHICKEN & WILD RICE SOUP
(6-8 servings)
Freezes well

1 box long grain and wild rice
2-3 large chicken breasts
1 medium onion, diced
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup butter or margarine (or less)
6 Tbsp instant chicken bouillon
2 cups diced celery
Broccoli, chopped (one medium bunch or to taste)
2 cups diced carrots
Salt & pepper

Bring chicken to boil in 8 cups of water in a large pot. Cook until tender. Remove chicken and save water in pot.

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces (or shred). Meanwhile, prepare the rice according to package directions and set aside.

Add bouillon cubes, carrots, celery, and broccoli to water and cook until crisp-tender (5 minutes at most).

Saute mushrooms and onion in butter and add to soup mixture.

Add chicken and prepared rice and heat thoroughly.

Serve with blueberry muffins or crusty bread.

SUZANNE'S FAVORITE BUTTERMILK BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
(makes12 muffins)

2 cups all purpose flour
1 T baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 heaping cup sugar
2 eggs
1 generous cup buttermilk
6 T butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla, overflowing

1 heaping cup blueberries (fresh or frozen is fine, and you can use any type of berries with the recipe)

Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put paper liners in a muffin tin. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Stir in the sugar.

Put eggs in a bowl and beat lightly, then beat in the buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla extract. (I just mix by hand.)

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in the beaten liquid ingredients and add the berries. Stir until combined, DO NOT overmix. Fill tins with muffin batter.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until well risen, golden brown and firm to the touch. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Put them on a wire rack to cool, or dust with powdered sugar, then eat them warm.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

KIDSBUZZ: Looking for a great read for kids ages 4-6? Acclaimed and bestselling author Robie H. Harris's SOMEWHERE captures the magic of a child finding her inner strength and curiosity--and discovering somewhere new all on her own. For a chance to win free copies, to talk with the authors, see http://www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz.

Dear Reader Column - February 24, 2022

Dear Reader,

It's time for my Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway so make sure to enter the drawing today. My homemade cookies will be delivered right to your door if you were one of the three names drawn. To enter this month's drawing, click here. 

Book club reader Maria M. shared one of her favorite soup recipes with me. She says, "Don't skip the butter at the end of the recipe, it really adds a little something to the dish.

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
From Cookie and Kate
(Yields 4 bowls)

1 large butternut squash (about 3 pounds), halved vertically and seeds removed
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/2 cup chopped shallot (about 1 large shallot bulb)
1 teaspoon salt
4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 to 4 cups (24 to 32 ounces) vegetable broth, as needed
1 to 2 tablespoons butter, to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the butternut squash on the pan and drizzle each half with just enough olive oil to lightly coat the squash on the inside (about 1/2 teaspoon each). Rub the oil over the inside of the squash and sprinkle it with salt and pepper.

Turn the squash face down and roast until it is tender and completely cooked through, about 40 to 50 minutes (don't worry if the skin or flesh browns--that's good for flavor). Set the squash aside until it's cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large soup pot, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until shimmering (if your blender has a soup preset, use a medium skillet to minimize dishes.) Add the chopped shallot and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often, until the shallot has softened and is starting to turn golden on the edges, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, stirring frequently. Transfer the contents to your stand blender.

Use a large spoon to scoop the butternut squash flesh into your blender. Discard the tough skin. Add the maple syrup, nutmeg and a few twists of freshly ground black pepper to the blender. Pour in 3 cups vegetable broth, being careful not to fill the container past the maximum fill line (you can work in batches if necessary, and stir in any remaining broth later).

Securely fasten the lid. Blend on high (or select the soup preset, if available), being careful to avoid hot steam escaping from the lid. Stop once your soup is ultra creamy and warmed through.

If you would like to thin out your soup a bit more, stir in the remaining cup of broth. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil, to taste, and blend well. Taste and stir in more salt and pepper, if necessary.

If your soup is piping hot from the blending process, you can pour it into serving bowls. If not, pour it back into your soup pot and warm the soup over medium heat, stirring often, until it's nice and steamy. I like to top individual bowls with some extra black pepper.

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 23, 2022

Dear Reader,

Today our guest writer is Peggy P. Sutton, one of the 2021 Honorable Mentions from my Write a DearReader Contest. The quality of writing in the 2021 Write a DearReader Contest was outstanding. Thank you so much Peggy for sharing your story with us.

Russell's Obituary

A week before his 95th birthday, my friend Russell asked me to type his obituary. I swallowed quickly and said, "It would be an honor. I'd be happy to help, so when you need it, it will be ready." I tried to emphasize 'when' as though it was an abstract vague time in the future. In truth, Russell had been in poor health, and 95 was just a week away.

He sent me several pages from a yellow legal pad, filled with careful printing that was still a struggle to read in places. I meticulously typed information about his siblings, children, and wife. Russell and his wife had been married 62 years. That gave me pause. They were married longer than I have been alive. When he lost his wife a few years ago, they had been together for nearly all of his life. How did he survive that?

As I typed in his education, career highlights, and offices held in civic organizations, I felt a strange realization; this is it. This is his life boiled down to part of a column in the local newspaper. I thought about his career achievements and awards, and thought those were probably really important at the time. They probably consumed a lot of his time and energy. And yet, a couple of decades later, the immediacy, the stress of the moment had faded away. What was left was a curious recounting of a life, but not the details that made it memorable and, hopefully, happier than not. I read with interest that he and his wife had lived in 11 places during their marriage. I thought about the new starts, the goodbyes to old neighbors and neighborhoods, the moving logistics that probably seemed overwhelming at the time.

Reading other obituaries has never given me the same feeling. Perhaps because I was typing the notes, and this seemed more immediate. I've only known Russell as an old man. He was a senior citizen when I met him nearly 20 years ago. This gave me a small glimpse of what his life was like when he was younger, healthier, busy with so many clubs, committees, promotions, and relocations. Would he, I wondered, have done anything differently if he could see into the future?

It made me think about what my obituary would say, years from now, one hopes. But the listing of career notes would not convey the way work and stress can take over my life. And yet, soon enough, that career will just be lines in a column in the local paper, noticed or not. I remind myself that all this pressure will be distilled into a small amount of ink on a quickly recycled page of newsprint. As I'm beginning to realize, this is not what's important. Will it matter a year from now, five years, ten?

Could I possibly let go of some of this constant worry that more needed to be done? The habit of rushing is a difficult one to break. I am gradually getting better at slowing down more and stressing less. I have discovered leisure is a garden in need of constant care. I smile more, I take more deep breaths, and try not to be weighed down by the crisis of the day. More and more often, I stop to watch the hummingbirds at my feeders, pause to enjoy the sound of my husband's laugh, and savor a little extra time with my dog.

Russell died a couple of months later. I keep his obituary handy, to remind me of what really counts.

-- Peggy P. Sutton
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

KIDSBUZZ: Looking for a great read for kids ages 4-6? Acclaimed and bestselling author Robie H. Harris's SOMEWHERE captures the magic of a child finding her inner strength and curiosity--and discovering somewhere new all on her own. For a chance to win free copies, to talk with the authors, see http://www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz.

 

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 21, 2022

Dear Reader,

I'm not signed up for an official volunteer opportunity right now, and lately I've been chastising myself about it. My very first volunteer job, when my husband and I moved to Sarasota, was assisting homeless people who wanted to get their clothes washed while they showered. When I decided to leave that position I moved on to other volunteering opportunities. But lately I've been feeling guilty, because right now, I'm not volunteering anywhere. And I've been asking myself, 'Suzanne, why aren't you volunteering and doing your share to help others?'

The first excuse that came to mind was, 'I don't really have any extra time.' My immediate retort, 'But isn't that what most people say? If you really want to do something Suzanne, you can make the time. It's all about choices.' And that's true. But when I took an inventory of how I spend my time, I realized the needs of my family have changed, at least for now.

So I've decided to stop feeling guilty, and instead remind myself that right now I'm volunteering in my own backyard. I'm trying to be the best wife, mom and grandmother I can be, and that means spending quality time with my grandchildren, continuing to be Mom to my grown children taking their calls when they need someone to listen, working on fun projects with my husband, taking care of our rescued cats, and devoting a little more time to myself, too. Because if I'm a happier, more well adjusted person, then I'll have more good stuff to share with other people.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

* Congratulations to the winners of The Lonely Hunter by Guest Author Aimée Lutkin: Melanie S., Brenda G., Dawn M., Sheri M. and Birnie M.

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