Teachers! Librarians! Let's Talk about the Delany Sisters and Having Our Say
January 8, 2024
Happy New Year!
I have two topics in this edition of The Writing Life. The first is a Zoom invitation. The second is about coping in our very difficult world.
Let's start with the invitation. Rutgers University Graduate School of Education Alumni Association is hosting a free Zoom session in which I will be interviewed by Eileen Harrison Sanchez about the Delany Sisters and Having Our Say. Zoom attendees will be able to submit questions. This event will be held Wednesday, January 24 from 7 to 8 pm. Two registrants will win either an Audiobook, narrated by Robin Miles, or a signed copy of the newest edition of the children's illustrated version of Having Our Say. The event will be of special interest to educators of all levels, librarians, and historians. (Teachers, note: One Professional Development Hour Certificate is available for attendees.) If you are interested in attending, reply to me at this email and I will send you the sign-up link. (Feel free to forward this to any teachers, librarians, or historians you may know.)
Okay, now on to the topic of coping with life today. The way I cope with the world is by writing about it. That is my outlet, and always has been. My way of dealing with the pandemic lockdown was to write a book about a shark that upended the lives of people at the Jersey Shore in the summer of 1916. There were parallels between the way people were reacting to the rogue shark - terror, denial, defiance, conspiracy theories - and the way they were behaving during the early days of Covid-19. So, I channeled my thoughts and feelings about Covid into a historical thriller about a shark. I have the feeling that this wouldn't work for everyone (ha!), so I have two other pieces of more general advice about coping that I will share.
One is from my late father who possessed an upbeat personality combined with good old American can-do optimism. (Remember that?) He was a U.S. Army veteran of WW II who served in the CBI (China, Burma, India) theater of war. At what would turn out to be his last Christmas, I asked him if he had ever had a lousy Christmas. He thought about it for a moment and said, "Well, during the war, it was challenging."
Challenging. Now, that right there inspires me. If he could muster the resilience and perspective to view Christmas in a war zone when he was a twenty year old as challenging, then by golly, I ought to be able to cope with the uncertainties of the world in which we are living now.
Another bit of advice that has become one of my mantras was something that Sadie Delany shared with me. "Life is short, and it's up to you to make it sweet," she would say, always with a smile, whenever the topic of conversation became too grim, or she knew I was worried about something. When a centenarian gives you words to live by, you'd better write them down. And, I did.
Wishing you health and happiness in 2024.
With my very best wishes,
Amy
For more information, please visit www.amyhillhearth.com