Seasons greetings, everyone. I’m writing today from our home in Florida to share a travel blog describing my most unusual December. I’ll also tell you what’s swirling like snowflakes through my mind. And minds are about the only places snowflakes swirl in Florida!
December 2016 – Tango in Argentina
If you’re a longtime subscriber, three years ago you received several posts from me in a series called “The Wilderness Beyond” about our trip to Chile, Argentina, Easter Island, Patagonia, and Brazil. The featured photo here is of Hoyt and me, 2016, on that trip in an airport. It really was the most unusual Christmastime I’ve ever had. If you want to read about it, click here.
December 2019 – What’s on my mind
This year we didn’t travel out of the country. Instead, we tended to household issues, and I gave presentations in April, May, August, October, and November about my memoir, Undertow. If you’re interested in those, check the details on the Events page. Click here.
2019 writing
This year I’ve kept writing, especially focusing on flash fiction. That refers to really short stories. I like a 700-word limit because it pushes me like poetry does to compress the narrative, employ images, and have fun with innuendo. I love that!
This year I’ve also kept blogging here and for other writers. Since March 2018, I’ve contributed monthly to the Florida Writers Association blog. I love doing that, too! It gives me a chance to explore the craft of writing and the writing life, sharing whatever is on my mind. Sometimes I quote authors I admire, sometimes I share ideas about how I organized, published and marketed my memoir. Other of my FWA blogs, like “Writing Lessons from the Track” are for sheer fun. That was about my un-glorious adventure on the first women’s track team at my high school. I’m honored to have been invited by FWA to blog for them. FWA has about 2,000 subscribers to that blog, both members and non-members. If you want to read my FWA work, click here. You can search for the one about the track team.
2019 Undertow news
This year has brought me great “author joy” from unexpected sources. Readers of Undertow around the world have sent me messages through this website’s Contact page. I’m humbled my story is something of value to such a variety of people. Thank you, Undertow readers, for reaching out to me. I’m very moved by your interest.
It took me more than ten years to write the book. During those years I doubted many times whether to continue the project, but with support and love from my family and friends we got the story into the world. Now it has a life of its own.
2019 Books and education
This year the book club I’m in with a few friends has still been turning pages each month, chatting about the books or articles we read, and treasuring our time to freely meet in a country whose Constitution provides for the freedom of association, speech, and the press, among other great benefits. One of my favorite books we read was, Letters of Note: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience, compiled by Shaun Usher.
This year, as is usual in life, brought a mix of not only good news but much distressing, and very serious national upheavals. Let’s trust things will improve in 2020! Let’s educate ourselves, as US citizens, as best as we can before voting in the next election.
Along these lines, this year I met constitutional attorney, Andrew L. Seidel, author of The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American. He spoke here in Winter Park. I went to hear him because I support education on this. Also, from my own experience, I understand how dangerous it is to claim that all Americans and US policies should conform to Bible-beliefs. That is not what the Constitution guarantees.
In 1988, I wrote on that topic myself for a college class. That paper was the first of several I wrote during college about my time with The Way International™. Here, for the first time, I’m posting it online. To read, “From Fundamentalism to Freedom,” click: Fundamentalism to Freedom_C_Edge
2020 – What’s next?
Next year lays ahead, waiting for us like a fallow field. What will sprout to life in your future? Who really knows? One thing I can tell you about mine is this:
As of January 1, 2020, with the exception of giving presentations to colleges in my area, and giving a couple of recorded interviews that are in the making right now, I’ll be retired from giving “public” talks about my fundamentalist cult story. It’s time to move on …
No matter what plans we have for 2020, we know the best laid one can go awry and we can’t control everything. But the good news is that, for the most part, we can control our responses to the cards life deals us.
Whatever happens, good, bad, or in-between, I’ll leave you with a few words of encouragement and goodwill from my dad, the late, great, cliché-quoter:
“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” “Drink your juice,” and “Don’t cry over spilt milk.”
I wish you peace, comfort, and joy next year and always!
Thanks for reading.
Your writer on the wing,
Charlene
Jessica Woolley
Hi Charlene. Comment not related to this post. ? I heard about your book today on a podcast, so I checked out your blog. Thanks for your writing – my mom, dad, and I were in (I believe) the 2nd Family Corps and during the last year I have been thinking so much about The Way & the impact it had on my life. I look forward to reading Undertow.
Charlene L. Edge
Hi Jessica. Thank you for connecting with me. I hope you find Undertow informative and helpful. Feel free to contact me about anything in the story.