A Year Is An Ocean by Veronica Jorge
December 22, 2023 by Veronica Jorge in category Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as beginnings and endings, End of year, Veronica Jorge
As the year draws to an end, preparing to close its final chapter, I think of the beach.
It might seem perfectly normal to those of you living in sunny climates, or to snow bunnies hastening away from the cold. But to those of us in areas that have already seen our first snow, it might sound strange.
To me, beginnings and endings can be like the ocean.
Like a rushing tide, every New Year, we rush toward new goals and hopes.
Sometimes shrinking back in fear, or drifting away into distant doubts and difficult memories.
Sturdy ocean rocks, like strong foundations, enable us to stand secure. And even walk on water, like faithful friends that make us believe we can do the impossible.
Our footprints in the sand are washed away like our past failings and errors. While a merciful new year, grants us another chance at life.
The 1960s song, Try to Remember, written by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, plays in my mind. Emotion tightens my throat. My heart forms a prayer for the coming year.
May no one weep. Not even the willow.
Veronica Jorge
See you next time on January 22, 2024!
0 3 Read moreNot What It Seems by Veronica Jorge
November 22, 2023 by Veronica Jorge in category Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as Memories, poem, Thanksgiving
Not What It Seems
by
Veronica Jorge
Memories swirl in the air around my head.
Light flashes and flickers illuminating my thoughts.
Emotions spread a warm blanket over me and shield me
from the wind.
Joy dances around my feet.
Worries scurry away.
It seems I’m just raking leaves.
But I’m really counting my blessings, one by one.
See you next time on December 22nd!
Discovering Authors, Old & New
October 22, 2023 by Veronica Jorge in category Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as Pearl S. Buck, Pearl S. Buck Historic House, Perkasie PA, The Good Earth, Veronica Jorge
Pearl S. Buck has always been one of my favorite authors. Most know her 1931 novel, The Good Earth, and film of the same name, for which she won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. And in 1938, she was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature for her depictions of China, where she lived with her missionary parents.
A prolific author, she wrote more than forty novels, over twenty works of non-fiction, an astounding bibliography of short stories, and stories for children. Even a cookbook!
And while she’s famous to us today, her male contemporaries were anything but supportive, often disparaging her writing skills. This prompted her to write other works under the pen-name, John Sedges, which were well received and lauded. Thus, proving her point that the hostility was against her as a woman, and had nothing to do with her literary abilities.
So, this past summer, I treated myself to a visit to the Pearl S. Buck Historic House in Perkasie, PA.
I wanted to learn more about this author. Instead, I discovered a remarkable woman whom I admired all the more. She was an accomplished pianist. She wrote about and worked tirelessly for women’s rights, civil rights, and for the education and improvement of women’s and children’s lives all over the world. She was also one of the first to write about and champion the cause of the handicapped, chronicling her own personal experience in The Child Who Never Grew, a heart-breaking memoir of her daughter’s rare developmental disorder, originally published in 1950. (Reprint, 2017, ISBN 978-1504047968).
Her foundation continues to advocate for all of these causes today.
And just when I thought the trip couldn’t get any better, I learned that the Pearl S. Buck Historic House also offers writing courses and has its own press center to help authors self-publish.
In keeping with Buck’s work toward empowering women, I purchased the following two books in the gift shop.
A Rose in a Ditch, by Julie Henning, (Pearl S. Buck Writing Center Press, 2019, ISBN 978-1-704786-438), who writes about her life in South Korea and being rescued and then raised in the U.S. by Pearl Buck as her own daughter.
And, Where the Stork Flies, by Linda C. Wisniewski, (Sand Hill Review Press, 2021, ISBN 978-1-949534-16-0). Struggling with relationship issues with her husband and her daughter, a librarian encounters a time portal and a Polish peasant fleeing her own unhappy marriage. Together, with a little magic help, they get their lives back on track.
And guess what? Turns out Wisniewski and I have several writer friends in common. How great is that!
I wish you all new and inspiring learnings and discoveries in your reading and writing journeys.
Veronica Jorge
See you next time on November 22nd!
APPLE, TABLE, PENNY… MURDER A REVIEW BY VERONICA JORGE
September 22, 2023 by Veronica Jorge in category Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as Apple Table Penny .Murder, Book Reivew, Carol L Wright, Veronica Jorge
APPLE, TABLE, PENNY… MURDER:
A SUZY KEMP MYSTERY
by
CAROL L. WRIGHT
Cozy Den Press,
2023
ISBN 978-0-9742891-6-8
Transitions and downsizing are never easy, but after the loss of her husband, Suzy Kemp knows a retirement community is the best decision for her. Thankfully, she has her devoted son to help her through the process. And today she’s all set to move into the independent-living apartment she selected.
Suzy goes through the check-in process and final health assessments, but her mind is on her cute apartment with a patio and a garden, her furniture that should arrive tomorrow, and other details of her new life. Is it any wonder then that she missed a few of the memory test questions? It could happen to anyone.
Suzy finds herself being wheeled into a hospital style memory care unit instead of her own apartment.
She tries to adjust to what she hopes is a temporary situation, but making friends with people who can’t remember who she is, or who they are, is a challenge. Hearing screams in the night doesn’t help either.
Things take a turn for the worse when Suzy notices that Jeanette, one of the residents, is missing. Perhaps she’s gone home? Gotten better and moved into her own apartment? Like the one she should be in instead of here.
But when Suzy inquires about Jeannette, everyone pretends she doesn’t exist.
Suzy questions her memory and her sanity, but when another resident disappears, Suzy is convinced that something strange and criminal is taking place in the retirement community. But who’s going to believe her, a woman with memory issues? And who can she trust?
Suzy is determined to discover what’s going on. And it’ll take all of her deductive skills, and memory, to work out the clues that will hopefully prevent others from disappearing, including her.
Apple, Table, Penny…Murder, is witty and intriguing with just the right amount of suspense, mystery, and humor. A delightful and entertaining read.
Veronica Jorge
See you next time on October 22nd!
Other Books Reviewed by Veronica
BLACK FOOD: STORIES, ART & RECIPES FROM ACROSS THE AFRICAN DIASPORA ed. by Bryant Terry—A REVIEW BY VERONICA JORGE
June 22, 2023 by Veronica Jorge in category Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as Black Food, Bryant Terry, Reviewed by Veronica Jorge
I recently participated in a Community Read event at my local library, (Lower Macungie Library in Macungie, PA), in partnership with Longwood Gardens of Kennett Square, PA. This year’s theme was the connection between food and people, and food and gardening. The book we read was Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora, edited and curated by celebrated chef and writer Bryant Terry.
4 Color Books
an imprint of Ten Speed Press
2021
ISBN 978-1-9848-5972-3
Buy Links
The collection of essays and recipes was a unique exploration of topics such as, the bond between food and culture, food insecurity, the empowerment of taking charge of your food and health, the bounty of gardening, and food as a connector of people, among other topics.
Some of the stories were heart-wrenching. We followed the journey of one slave, ripped from her land, as she described braiding seeds into her hair in order to carry something of her food and culture to an unknown land.
The library, in addition, organized a variety of activities to enhance the reading and learning experience. In keeping with food and gardening, the library supplied planters, soil, and herbs for each of us to decorate our very own potted plant.
A registered dietician gave a talk on the common sense of eating well.
And as part of the book read, we each selected a recipe from the book to make and then share together. Below you can see my choice, Nicole Taylor’s Cocoa-Orange Fish. As she describes it on page 195 of the book, “Cocoa powder transforms both savory and sweet dishes. Its luxurious earthiness adds depth to proteins, like fish.”
I paired the catfish with okra and yams. The beverage is sorrel, also known as hibiscus flowers, with origins in Africa.
Black Food: Stories, Art and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora provides much food for thought (pun intended) and is an enlightening, inspiring, delicious, and empowering read.
And libraries are more than just a collection of books. They broaden our worldview and unite peoples and communities. I hope you enjoy and love your library as much as I appreciate mine!
Veronica Jorge
I’m off for the summer so see you next time on September 22nd!
Other Books Reviewed by Veronica Jorge
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