My chance to expound....an opportunity to pontificate....a reason to question why I write, and occasionally, a place where I’ve wondered: Why did I write that? The blog has taught me to be clear, be short and continually search for interesting subjects. The door is open, and you are always welcome. www.thewritingwaters.wordpress.com
P.S. I’d enjoy your comments.
Over twenty years after my loved younger brother took his own life at the age of twenty-six, I suddenly, unexpectedly had an epiphany that recovery after a traumatic death has a clear and surprisingly similar storyline of the literary hero’s journey. My combined
memoir and how-to shows how the story of grief
resonates with the struggles of classic heroes like
Odysseus, Superman, Harry Potter, and even
Shakespeare’s failed Hamlet.
Blossoms of the Lower Branches,
A Hero’s Journey Through Grief
Panoply Publishing
ISBN 978-0-9793958-3-3
Non-fiction, memoir, self-help
308 pages
$17.00
What others say
A winner in the 2010 Utah State Artists and Museums Contest for Excellent Writing in Non-fiction.
An intimate, metaphor-rich guide for directing grief into a hero’s journey. A balm for those seeking a new way to heal from loss.
Kirkus Indie Review
I think it is a beautifully written story. The way you drew upon ancient lore reminded me that the quest through grief is not unique to me, and that it brings its own gifts to those who begin, stripped naked, upon its journey.
Helen J, who lost her son
There aren’t any blogs on the pages of how I make a living. They’re straight advertising of my work as an author, teacher, speaker and writing guide. Feel welcome to send me comments, questions, sales, teaching and speaking opportunities or paid work proposals. I work out of Salt Lake City, Utah and very much enjoy what I do. I’m a person who best thrives alternately working with groups, individuals and at times, entirely alone.
Life has a lot of wiggly, squiggly streams. Being a kid, teen-age trauma, young adulthood, career, all have separate tributaries and stories. Sometimes they join up for a bit of a run together like parenthood and career. Others divide as when a young person leaves home and begins building a life away from parents. Along the way streams can meander into a very deep, bleak, stagnant pool where no one wants to join us, say when we’re moping about a lost love, or we’re deeply grieving over someone who died.
Ah well, enough of the sadness because there are also streams of refreshing joy. Here’s the streams of my life I’m opening for public view and comment because that’s what I do. I write. And if you’re a writer you might as well just boil yourself in caustic words and bathe in venom before donning the hair shirt because a writer needs a bit of a tough skin before venturing into the world of readers responding to their work. But isn’t that also true of a butcher, a baker and a candlestick maker?
I’m par-boiled and ready to go.
Contact me at
© Rebecca Guevara
