That other project of mine is here.
Author: mapelba
I'm a writer, artist, teacher, mother, wife, daughter, friend, coffee addict... What else? A success, a failure, a mess, a fan, a hater of housework, a lover of dogs, a liberal, an obsessive, and a bunch of other things that probably would never occur to me. I reveal myself in more ways in my writings and art than in any list of adjectives. And whoever you are, I hope most of all that you are a reader.
Dad, Wendy’s, and Memory Quirks
I visited my dad in August. We were sitting around a table with friends when I shared a memory of my childhood. This memory was of a key moment in my childhood and I'd shared it with many people over the years, but I'd never related it in front of my dad before. I don't …
Already Taken
I hate it when I come up with a title only to discover someone else has already used it. Have you done that? What are the rules? I've searched for books before and found several books with the same or very similar titles, but usually they're in different genres or written generations apart. Most of …
The Writing Conference and Good Things
Last week, thanks to the work and help of friends and strangers, I traveled to Salem, Massachusetts for the Writer Unboxed UnConference. Have you ever been to Salem? I found it magical. Maybe it was arriving three days after Halloween and meeting people I'd known online, but had never spent time with in real life. …
The Obituary Project
The Obituary Project is almost done. Most every participant has received her obituary. I say "her" because for some reason, almost no men signed up for the project. Only one. Not sure if that means anything. Two people asked me to make stuff up. Those were fun but more daunting. How do you write an …
Living Past Birthdays
In a few days, I'll celebrate another birthday. This birthday will make me older than my mother (pictured) was when she died. She died when I was 21, and I remember one night (though it was probably actually many nights) failing to sleep and thinking about the future without my mom. In my dorm room, …
The Halloween Chronicles
Nothing scary is happening. Not yet, anyway. Oh, scary things lurk nearby, certainly. Ebola has come to my state. War wages in far too many places to list. Terrorists plot somewhere. Something you don't expect waits right around the corner. But I'm sitting on my patio, glimpsing fireflies and listening to the whir of the …
The Halloween Season
The other day, I finished reading Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. I discovered the author, Caitlin Doughty, around the same time I received my cancer diagnosis. I watched her video about talking to children about death. Now, I had an optimistic outlook on my cancer treatment, but I had to tell my kid, and my …
The Obituary Lesson
The other day I listened to an On the Media radio story about the decline of the beat reporter, and one beat they covered was the obituary beat. I struck by the realization that so many papers no longer cover obituaries, and while some papers might have an online version, families have to pay every …
Advice Giving and Other Pains
I don't like being asked for advice. I don't want to be asked which job you should take or what you should do about a relationship. I have an opinion (I'm full of opinions!), but I don't need more responsibility. What happens if you follow my advice and everything goes wrong? Blame is what happens. …
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 