In this brief time before the end of the current year and the beginning of the New Year, I like to pause and look back over what I have achieved – and what I haven’t achieved – and what I want to do in the coming year. I do this in a variety of ways….
Many, perhaps most, of us know someone who deals with dementia. My first encounter with dementia was when I was in my early teen years, although that word was not commonly used then. We’d go over to visit my paternal grandparents, and Grandma would say, “Father is confused today.” We accepted this confusion as part…
Cue the herald trumpets! Those of you who have been reading my blog for some time will know that October 1 is a special day of celebration for me. It is the birthday of three people whom I admire, who have directly or indirectly provided guidance, example, wisdom, and strength. As is my custom when…
Title: Amina’s Voice Author: Hena Khan Publisher: New York: Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster Children’s, 2017 Genre: Middle Grade Fiction Audience Age: 9 to 12 Themes/Topics: empowerment, racism, feeling comfortable with who you are, lifting up your voice Opening Sentences: Something sharp pokes me in the rib. “You should totally sign up for a solo,” Soojin…
It’s time for a new blogging season here at By Word of Beth, and I’m ready for it. I’m planning what I hope will be interesting and engaging posts, including: a series looking at why and how I write, and why and how others write, including profiles of other writers and the occasional…
If you’re on Facebook at all regularly, you’ll no doubt have seen more than one of the plethora of quizzes and questionnaires that are so popular there. I admit I have fun with them. You may be interested to know that if I were a children’s book character, I’d be Max from Where the Wild…
As I said in my last blog post of 2013, I won’t be doing my month-end accountability posts this year. Instead, in keeping with my chosen theme for the year of moving forward, the last Monday of each month will feature a post designed to get us all thinking about some aspect of moving forward…
Janus, the Roman god from whom the month of January derives its name, is usually depicted with two faces, one looking forward, one looking back. He was considered to be able to see both past and future at the same time. As I stand on the brink of another January, I find myself looking both…