It’s already summer; how did that happen? This particular June solstice brings with it a desire to reflect upon the head-spinning events of the past few months. Dictionaries define the term reflection variously. Interestingly, the root is from the Latin reflexiōn – a “bending back”, which seems fitting as I look backwards. Another […]
“Why There Are Words” Literary Event – Rita Reads The Coconut Latitudes
New Year – New Beginnings, Old Connections
In this new year, as The Coconut Latitudes branches out into the world, it continues to bring some unexpected gifts and connections. The latest arrived yesterday, when, out-of-the-blue, a message arrived from a pen pal who I corresponded with more than fifty years ago. The first gift was the arrival of photographs I’d […]
Gratitude and Surrender
As leaves fall and pad California hiking trails with soft blankets of ocher and crimson, we whisper prayers for rain, but know bare branches are also necessary for rebirth and growth. Walking on one of these mountain trails last week, I recalled words by Mark Matousek in a recent memoir writing workshop: “Growth demands a […]
The Fire Inside
A dear friend posted a note to my Facebook wall the other day. She’d been thinking about writing, one of the things that brings her true joy. But, she said, she was “absolutely fearful” of anyone reading or commenting on her writing. She wrote: “I think of you because you are so courageous as to […]
Perilous Footing on the Path Home
September 16, 2014—the official publication date of my memoir, The Coconut Latitudes: Secrets, Storms and Survival in the Caribbean. It’s also the day that I will finally be at the end of my long road home. I mean that in the metaphorical sense, the hero’s journey some say, the return to one’s self. I wrote […]
Sight and Insight
It’s hard to explain what it’s like not to see, especially if “not-seeing-much” is all you know. I was born with severe astigmatism and nearsightedness, although no one knew. My parents were clueless about my condition, since we moved when I was quite young to the Dominican Republic. In the early 1950s in a backwater […]
The Power of Starlight and Fireflies
I believe one counterpoint to the difficult times we all encounter in life is the natural world, and taking time to both immerse oneself in its beauty and respect its fury. I sometimes need reminding of this, and remember to be grateful. Today I’m grateful, grumblingly so sometimes, for this adventure called writing a book. […]
Sweet interlude on the path to publication
Dulce de Coco One of the chapters in my memoir was a particular pleasure to write; it brought back memories as a child riding my trusty bicycle through rutted streets to find the lady who made dulce de coco, coconut candy. Drawn by the enticing aroma rising up from the large cauldron on the outdoor […]
HOME, BUT NOT
Recently I read a poignant post in National Geographic Traveler by writer Don George about visiting his long-ago childhood home. In it, he describes rediscovering “the layering presence of history.” Seeing his physical house altered by its new owners, he also noted the changes made him feel “It was home, but not.” The full story […]