A Book is Born

I am thankful my book has the ability to make people hungry.

I am thankful my book evokes emotions in others, that is kind of the effect I was hoping for. *wink*

I am thankful my book has such diverse recipes from amazing people.

I am thankful my book has provided me an opportunity to become friends with women in the co-op I have never met, but feel kindred to all the same.

I am thankful my book has (almost) become a reality, so I can tell my children and the rest of the world with honesty, enthusiasm and unwavering belief that dreams do come true.

I am thankful my book has found a home with a whip smart, creative, compassionate publisher.

I am thankful my book has helped to reinvent my identity and answer my question of “what am I here to do?”

I am thankful my book has made my huband, children, parents and friends proud.

I am thankful my book has immortalized some characters and relationships.

It may sound silly, but I am thankful my book has cool typesetting, fonts and graphics. Aesthetically pleasing has never been a bad thing *smile*

I hope all souls the world over have reason to be as thankful as me.

I am Samantha Gianulis, author of Little Grapes on the Vine…Mommy’s Musings on Food & Family, due out April 2007.

I am thankful this vision I have had in my head for so many years is coming to fruition.

I am thankful for my incredible Co-Op authors – Christine, Paula, Julie, Pam, Kathy, Maureen, Iris, Victoria, Alana, Caron, Marna, Caroline, Teri, Kelley, Arlene, Nina, Debbie, Christie, Sam, Jennifer, Norma, Jenn, Leeda and Malonda – for their wonderful energy, honesty, and time put into this project.

From my journal over 4 years ago…

I hear the quiet screams of mom writers wanting to be heard, women who have sacrificed a piece of themselves for the well-being of their families, Writers who cling to their journals as if their life depended on it – because for some, it does. The only sanity we find amongst our chaos is our writing, and the only self-fulfilling thought in our bodies is to publish these works, to share our experiences so that others mothers may not feel so all-alone.

A Book is Born captures the feeling between the pages of the mom writer’s journal, between her printed book and her public appearances. A Book is Born is filled with potential and hope for all moms who write.

~ Nancy

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “You must be the change you wish to see.” As I reflect on this year’s blessings, I realize that I’ve also been afforded with opportunities to spread karmic acts of kindness and cultivate gratitude on a much larger scale.

I am thankful for my family with all their quirks, eccentricities and love. They have provided me with the loving confidence to share the joys of accepting diversity to openly welcome those who are different from me into my life. I am thankful for the meal I will receive today but understand that it is my duty, whether donating a holiday meal or volunteering to serve dinner, to provide to those who are less fortunate. I am thankful for my voice - both verbal and written - as well as unwavering motivation that offered me a chance to write Mommyhood Diaries, a companion that has touched many women by creating a maternal sense of community filled with empathy, compassion and humor. Thankful is really as thankful does. When I cutivate gratitude and count my blessings, I am also driven to create a culture of positive change our world so readily needs. This year, take a few moments to reflect not only on your blessings, but on ways you can cultivate gratitude and spread karmic acts of kindness. Happy Thanksgiving!

…having a car to drive to customs to get my books out of hock; for warehouse guys who help load heavy furniture into my car even when they’re not supposed to; for good friends who have enormous teflon shoulders when I come crying down the lane.

Life as an author is tremendous — tremendously exhilerating (“Your book changed my life!”) and tremendously exhausting (“Returns”).

It’s been a week of running errands and spending time in a state of distraction. My dear friend recently said she knows she’s doing too much when she loses the ability to multitask (such as listening to her son tell about his day in kindergarten while boiling a pot of water).

Life is in the half notes, not the sustained vibratto. So I tell myself as I race from one place to the next, juggling more projects than I think I can bear and waiting for the “No” to release from my throat.

Perhaps I should take the advice I gave a harried teacher at my son’s school. She cast me a panicked look when I finally found the word “no” in my vocabulary again.

“You won’t tutor my daughter in English?” she squeaked.

“Ms. Jones,” I relayed in my own patient teacher voice. “When you say ‘no’ to someone, you are saying ‘yes’ to yourself. Remember that the next time you feel overloaded!”

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to reflect on our many blessings. Sometimes we don’t have, or don’t take the time to express how grateful we are.

I am thankful that my book, Be Ye Encouraged!,(release date: spring 2007) has allowed my dream of helping others who struggle with weight challenges to become a reality.

I am thankful that my book has opened a new, exciting chapter in my life.

Be ye encouraged, the best is yet to come!

Warm Thanksgiving Wishes to You All,

Leeda Bacon