The Coconut Latitudes | Rita M. Gardner

Fall/Winter News 2016

October 25, 2016 by Rita Gardner Leave a Comment

Buckeye Tree at Phoenix Lake, Fall 2016

Fall is upon us, that bittersweet season where the earth takes a breather, goes fallow, and directs us to look inwards. It invites us to express gratitude for all we have been given. This year I am especially thankful for an unexpected family connection and visit – a gift I’ll cherish forever. On the literary side, I participated in the Bay Area Book Festival and LitQuake, and was a finalist in the 2016 National Indie Excellence Awards for The Coconut Latitudes. I’m delighted to have contributed to two new literary collections coming out in the next few weeks. I’ve also taken the time to read some inspiring books, such as The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.

Cover of book The Body Keeps the Score The book starts with the premise that trauma is a fact of life, one that “literally reshapes both body and brain.” As readers of my memoir know, alcoholism played a monumental role in my family, shaping lives and beliefs for decades. I am thankful for Dr. van der Kolk and all of the healers at the front lines in the battle to recover lives shattered by trauma in its many guises. While the subject is difficult, the book is uplifting and full of hope. I highly recommend it.

NEW BOOKS and UPCOMING EVENTS:

Book cover - Magic of Memoir From Fear to Freedom: A Memoir’s Journey, an essay I wrote about the (sometimes traumatic) experience of writing The Coconut Latitudes, is included in The Magic of Memoir. A collection of stories by 38 writers of memoir, it was edited by Linda Joy Myers (president and founder of the National Association of Memoir Writers) and Brooke Warner, publisher of She Writes Press. A “memoirist’s companion for when the going gets tough,” it also includes interviews with high-profile writers (including Mary Karr, Elizabeth Gilbert and Mark Matousek) whose inspiring tales shine their own light on the subject. This is the perfect gift to give anyone thinking of writing a memoir. For details or to pre-order, visit the Amazon book link: http://amzn.to/2c1BlZX . Publish date: November 2016.

Upcoming Book Event for The Magic of Memoir: Friday, November 18 at 7:00p at Laurel Books. 1423 Broadway, Oakland (just steps away from 12^th Street BART station). Please join me and the other contributors who will be reading excerpts.
wanderinginandalusiacover In other new book news, I’m excited to be part of Wanderland Writers’ latest anthology, Wandering in Andalusia: The Soul of Southern Spain. It launches with a celebration on Saturday, December 10, 7:00p.m. at Book Passage , 51 Tamal Vista, Corte Madera, CA. The collection includes several pieces I wrote during travel in Spain earlier this year. This new volume in the “Wandering” series is chock-a-block full of tasty reads from a variety of fine writers. The book launch will be a great way to kick off the holiday season with a distinctly Spanish flavor. I have it on good authority there may be some vino, flamenco moves, and castanets. I invite all my Bay Area friends to join the festivities – so be sure to mark your calendars now for some winter “Olé!” (And if you can’t make it that day, we’ll be doing another reading at Book Passage’s San Francisco Bookstore in the Ferry Building on Monday, December 12 at 6:00p.)

I hope this time of year brings you the promise of regrowth, joy, and healing. Heaven knows we can all use some healing after this fraught election process.

Solstice and new beginnings

December 17, 2015 by Rita Gardner Leave a Comment

Solstice. A perfect metaphor for our dual selves, darkness and light. Celebrated since ancient times, it’s the occasion when the sun appears to stand still just for a moment before an inevitable seasonal change begins. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is the longest day – a time to fling oneself outside, to inhabit the long flame of day and bask in its lingering afterglow. A time to make stories.

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice marks the shortest day and longest night: a time to draw in, gather ourselves and tell our stories. Storytelling is as old as humanity and almost as necessary as breathing. In many ways, we are our stories. And the tales we make (and the lives we live) are both wildly individual and communal. We draw from and nourish ourselves from others’ stories as much as our own.

I’m grateful this past year has been full of that kind of nourishment. In addition to writing my own words, I’ve savored others’ storytelling in their words, in books. From heartbreaking revelations exuding tremulous bravery to quirky accounts of misadventures, and everything in between – I’ve witnessed the pain and joys of others’ lives. Just a few books that I read in 2015: Beautiful Affliction by Lene Fogelberg, Heartprints of Africa by Cinda Adams Brooks, Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller, Fourteen by Leslie Johansen Nack, The Thriver’s Edge by Donna Stoneham, and – because sometimes we just need to laugh out loud: The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Marteen Troost.

I’m thankful to all of you for sharing your personal journeys, and grateful that The Coconut Latitudes continues to touch so many people in unexpected ways. I’m also delighted to be included in a new book this year, My Gutsy Story, (2^nd Ed.) an anthology edited by Sonia Marsh, featuring inspirational tales about taking chances in life. Sometimes it seems that we should stop taking any chances in light of recent world events. As we reel from news and disasters, we hold our breath and wonder what new conflicts await in 2016 to challenge our hearts. In the midst of that uncertainty, maybe the best we can do is just continue to live our lives, tell our stories and share our truths. Regardless of the good and evil in humanity, we can take solace that the earth is predictable. It tilts on its axis away from or toward the sun. Darkness and light; inexorable shifts in one direction or the other.
As the solstice occurs, we take a breath and carry on as a new year is birthed. Right now trees are bare, but new buds are just biding their time to bloom. I’m looking forward to another writing adventure in March, joining Wanderland Writers in Andalucía, Spain. Led by Linda Watanabe McFerrin and Joanna Biggar, a group of us will explore new territory and find ways to put our experiences into words. Who knows what new tales will emerge?

I hope 2016 brings peace where possible, surprises and joy to all. And to my literary sisters and brothers: Write on!

Summer Reflections

June 22, 2015 by Rita Gardner Leave a Comment

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 common definition includes the act of reflecting images produced by mirrors or other things like water, shiny metals or glass. In early spring I learned that The Coconut Latitudes was a finalist in the 2015 Benjamin Franklin Awards, an event sponsored by Independent Book Publishers Association. The winners would be announced at a ceremony in Austin, Texas. While I didn’t expect to win, I thought it would be a fun trip. I’d meet other authors, see my publisher and have a look at the city. So after an embarrassingly long shopping trip to find shoes that wouldn’t shout “Sensible-sandal-wearing California earth mother”, I packed my suitcase.

As it turned out, I won Gold Award for memoir category, and two days later I had to unpack my bag at the airport when leaving Austin. My crystal award and its sharp obelisk shape had, not surprisingly, caught the eye of the TSA agent as it went through the scanner, reflecting potential danger. I admit I had noticed the large sign behind him that shouted: “NO pointed objects allowed on the aircraft.” Oddly, my shiny (and pointy-toed) shoes didn’t get his attention and he did let me keep my trophy after determining I seemed unlikely to wield it as a weapon mid-flight.

In May, after planning a trip to the East Coast to visit friends and family, I learned my memoir had won a second Gold Award, this time in the 2015 Next Generation Indie Awards, and the presentation would be in New York City. I decided not to go, except my friends just wouldn’t shut up. After all, as they sensibly pointed out, I’d already be in the general neighborhood (well, Boston.) And I had the shoes.

New York Skyline at dusk The awards ceremony was lovely, and New York City simply took my breath away. Buildings glowed orange in the dusk. Raindrops mirrored the skyscrapers and sidewalks. The night glittered with magic and in the daytime, the blue sky reflected off buildings under construction, partly revealing gritty underpinnings that would soon be obscured by a new shiny skin.

Another definition of reflection involves “ideas or thoughts that come as a result of thinking or meditating.” A couple of weeks ago I received a phone call from the Pacific Northwest Writers Association, letting me know that my book is a finalist in their awards program. The winner will be announced in July at an event in Seattle. I don’t think I’ll meditate on that too long, other to than to express my gratitude and say: Thank you, and yes, I will be there. It doesn’t matter if I win or not; what is precious to me are the connections made, new friendships, introduction to new worlds of words, and not the least – the gift of reflection in all its myriad definitions.

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