Review and Giveaway: "Writing Home" by Cindy La Ferle [CLOSED]
When I was a young mother, I devoured Joyce Maynard's Domestic Affairs column that ran in my daily newspaper. She was a young, hip mom and I wanted to be just like her.
The same went for Elizabeth Berg's essays in Parent magazine. Where Maynard was unconventional and cool, Berg was sweet and traditional. The heartfelt and often poignant words from both made me feel not so alone in the sometimes solitary madness of motherhood and inspired me to create -- and cherish -- the ordinary moments that make one's home "home."
A recent reading of "Writing Home" by Cindy La Ferle did much the same for me.
"Writing Home" is a collection of 93 columns and essays originally published in regional newspapers and national publications as esteemed as Reader's Digest and Better Homes & Gardens' Country Garden. Cindy recently sent me a copy of "Writing Home" to review on Grandma's Briefs.
(Note to FTC-rule watchers: The copy was free. Note to my readers: The "free" status in no way influenced my review of Cindy's book.)
I call Cindy by her first name because I feel like I came to know her well through her essays. Like a friend, I learned what makes her tick, and -- like the best of my friends -- it's the very same things that make me tick: family and home.
Of course, home means cooking, and in the essay titled "Baghdad and Banana Bread," one paragraph in particular resonated with me:
Fortunately, my attitude toward food preparaton changed after my son was born and I started working from home. This change of heart had less to do with my son's preference for homemade cookies and more to do with the fact that working in the kitchen was a creative release from parenting and writing deadlines. Recipes were easier to manage than a cranky three-year-old or an unruly paragraph. Sifting flour and breaking eggs seemed soothing, almost Zen-like.
... tick ...
In "Willie," Cindy relates her enjoyment of a squirrel who resides on her property and nibbles nuts right outside the window where she writes every day. I, too, love the squirrels -- including the two white ones! -- who run from tree to tree outside my windows, much to the chagrin of squirrel-hating Jim. Cindy writes:
I've asked myself why I find this so entertaining; why I'd bother befriending a nervy little rodent when I have bigger chores on my list.
... tick ...
So many of Cindy's words resonated with me that I found it difficult to choose a favorite. So I e-mailed her to ask which of the essays were her favorites. Like me, she couldn't pick just one; she chose three. Here are her choices and why she chose them:
"October Memories" -- "One of my favorite pieces honoring my beloved dad's memory. I was in my late 30s when he died, and his loss was difficult time for me. I wrote my way through my grief."
"Grandpa's Ferns" -- "Both a garden essay and a tribute to my Scottish immigrant grandfather."
"Home Sweet Office" -- "A favorite because it recalls the events that led me to become a work-at-home mom. I didn't begin writing personal essays -- which are now my forte -- until this phase of my life. In retrospect, being a mother made me a better writer -- not college, not journalism school. That's why this particular piece is special to me."
... tick, tick, tick ...
If family and home are what make you tick, you'll enjoy "Writing Home." It may even do for you what Maynard and Berg -- and now LaFerle -- did for me: made me feel not so alone in the sometimes solitary madness of motherhood and inspired me to create -- and cherish -- the ordinary moments that make one's home "home."
"Writing Home" is currently available on Amazon.com and is distributed to bookstores by Wayne State University Press. Proceeds from new book sales are donated to organizations serving the homeless in Oakland County, Mich.
GIVEAWAY:
Cindy sent me one signed copy of "Writing Home" to give away to one lucky reader of Grandma's Briefs. If you'd like to be in the running for this collection of poignant essays and columns, comment to this post with your answer to following question:
What is one thing that defines home for you? Is it a certain scent, a special family member, a piece of furniture passed down through the family, or something else special that simply means "home"?
Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. Thursday, April 1 (no fooling!) and the winner (randomly chosen by my trusty ol' BINGO ball roller) will be announced Friday, April 2.
Lisa Carpenter
Grandma Lizzie is the winner of this contest. Congratulations, Lizzie! E-mail me to claim your prize and give me your mailing address.
Reader Comments (9)
Home = Pickles in the refrigerator and a comfy chair with a good reading light.
Home is coming through my front door, standing on my little tiled entryway with two black cats sashaying around my legs and two dogs, little one yipping, big one doing a hula dance all around the living room, as if I've been gone a month, even if I've only gone down to the mailbox at the end
of the driveway.
Home is family...watching them interact with laughter and memories Everything is okay when the family is together, no matter where or what we are doing. We are better when we are together.
Home is that place where you can stay in your pajamas all day, eat ice cream out of the carton, dance like the pro you're not, scream when you can't take it anymore, and be surrounded by people you love and who love you back.
Home is where my family gathers, and the place I can stay in my pajamas all day!
This sounds like a wonderful book!
The thing that speaks of home to me the warm and cozy feeling I get when I walk into the house. I go through the motions of tossing off my shoes off by the door and putting on my slippers, checking the phone for messages, and then sitting in my recliner to put my feet up and read the newspaper as the cat jumps up in my lap for a snuggle. Ahhhhh... I'm home!
Home is anywhere I feel a personal connection...a restaurant or bar I frequent, my closet-sized office at work, my messy SUV, my backyard deck, my mother's house, my sister's place, and, of course, my own home shared with husband, son, pets, and other treasures.
The smell of spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove, especially on an autumn evening.
Home for me is a place where families are together sharing life (the happy & the sad). A place to relax and put your feet up and just talk. A place where you can feel safe.