Words from the Heart

Several years ago, I met a wonderful, creative woman, Kathleen Fearing (Kath). We took to each other instantly, having very similar interests. One of our shared dreams was to publish our writing. I am so excited to announce that Kath has not only published her book, but has also honored me with an interview to promote it. Before our interview, let me give you a little bio of my dear friend, Kathleen Fearing. Kathleen Fearing is a member of Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators( SCBWI ), The Knoxville Writer’s Guild, and the Tennessee Mountain Writers Association Kath has had four stories and a poem published at www.storiesforchildrenmagazine.org. She won fourth place in the Writer’s Digest 76th Annual Writing Competition in the children’s category. Another of her stories was chosen by the Maryland State Department of Education for use in their 2011 assessment testing. She has a doctorate in education and taught children’s literature, as well as other courses at various...

Photo credit: Microsoft Clip Art The premise of this blog is to share the beauty of words, however; we often need to be able to compare the opposite in order to appreciate truly the beauty. Words are not always beautiful. They can cut deeper than a surgeon's scalpel; destroy someone's life faster than a natural disaster; and leave them with scars that last longer than time itself. Verbal abuse is the worse form of abuse because while the pain runs deep, it is invisible. As an abuse survivor, it has taken me many years to realize that the words that were yelled, thrown, hurled my way did not have anything to do with me. I was not those words. It was a long and often painful journey to this discovery. Gratefully, it is one that I can now share without fear, hoping that others will benefit from my discoveries. One of my earliest and most painful memories was being told that I was never going to be "pretty" because of a scar I have on my shoulder and my broken nose. ...

Back several years ago, my dear friend Barbara got tickets for our birthdays (We were born two weeks apart.) to see AR Gurney's Love Letters in Boston with Charlton Heston. It was one of my most memorable trips to the theater, not only because the play is one of my favorites, but also because we literally had front row seats. In fact, my seat was directly under Mr. Heston's podium. Now, I must confess, I do not agree with Mr. Heston's politics, but the man has an undeniable presence on stage. The performance was wonderful; I cried at the end, which will surprise no one! Several years later, I had the good fortune to be able to perform Love Letters opposite my thespian friend, Tom at a local retirement community in Maine. ******* What is it about Love Letters that is so intriguing? For me, it is the give and take of communication between two people over many years. Little notes that sometimes have few words but great meaning. For those who do not know the p...

Back in the 70's, I learned about the musical, A Chorus Line . It received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1976. The one song that touched me then, and still hits my heartstrings is " What I Did For Love, " mainly because it says that no matter what, when it comes to Love, never regret. Love is more powerful than that; Love has more understanding, forgiveness, and acceptance. I find myself humming the words to this song from time to time. It is like a subconscious reminder that if Love is at the center of what I do, then there are no regrets, even when things fail to materialize, as I would like them; even when relationships fall apart. If I lived my life centered in Love then there are no regrets. Love is always there, always remembered, and always ready to hold us up. Of course, it is sometimes like whispering sweet nothings into the ears of a manikin getting folks to understand that this is not the sickly-sweet-gooey-greeting card love that appears in the movies...