 to discover who my mother was really and realized she was flawed and also very human and wonderful. As an adult with not the same need for her that I had growing up, I can see her more clearly. Writing the memoir cleared up the old hurts and made me more confident.
Would you change anything about writing this if you could? It was such a personal read, and I really felt so connected to your memories while reading it. I would say it was incredibly brave to write such an honest memoir.
Thank you so much for saying this. I don’t think I would change anything.
I would like to say thank you all for giving me the opportunity to read this.
I am so happy that this resonated deeply with you. I think a reader who is keyed in to the words and images and understands and connects is the greatest gift a writer could receive.
Soy panameña y americana. Can you split the two? Born and raised in Panama, I chose to leave my tiny land for Los Estados Unidos de America—a newly minted immigrant. I was in my late teens. In my thirties, I swore allegiance to the country I’d adopted and became an American. I raised a family and worked as book editor at Harper & Row Publishers and McGraw-Hill Book Company after which I studied at Parson’s School of Design and established my own design studio. In the last ten years I’ve dedicated myself to the compelling art and craft of writing. I’m a devoted alumna of the Sarah Lawrence Writing Institute.
Two loving sons have given me two amazing women as daughters-in-law. I am married to a funny, Brooklyn-born man. Life is strong. I endure the Mets. I love orchids and cats.
At the Narrow Waist of the World: a memoir is a mother-daughter story about mental illness and healing. Is mental illness fixed, or does it move in and out of focus? Mine is a story about forgiveness and acceptance. About leaving home and looking back and finding it again.
I haven’t been able to read much fiction set in Ancient Egypt, I tend to stick with nonfiction on this ‘subject matter’ and I’m pretty passionate about history and for years as a child, I wanted to be an Egyptologist, but that’s just me fangirling over Egypt. So, let’s get to the heart of the matter.
The Awakening Aten. This is a promising start to a generational saga. Morrissey obviously did his research for this book, I was really impressed by the dedication shown in the history of this book. There are characters that were straight from the pages of history, many real, some purely fictional but all flowed seamlessly together and unless you recalled the list at the start that stated who was ‘real’ and who was fictional, they all blended together.
Yuya rises from slave to the most powerful man in Egypt but he keeps his own ideology and faith while supporting those of family and friends who worship as most do in Egypt at this time period.
There is a long cast of characters for this, from all walks of life and backgrounds. An older generation their children and grandchildren those surrounded in their world.
Yuya’s friend Kha was one of my favorite characters and I really enjoyed his arc and the others as well. Being recalled to a world over 3000 years gone, it doesn’t lessen the connection I had with these characters. They were men and women who loved, toiled, and went through tragedies and triumphs no matter if they were Royalty, powerful men risen from their circumstances, or just artists who were passionate for their work.
There is a question of faith whether mono or polytheistic, and it’s interesting to see how Morrissey has taken the shift of many gods to one in Egypt’s history.
The ending has left me unable to contain my enthusiasm to read book two and I am already waiting for its release.
A rich and in-depth novel on Ancient Egypt and characters who connect to us across the ages.
I’m a huge fan and know I will return to Yuya, Kha, and the others again and again. Thanks to Anne Cater, Aidan K. Morrissey and Troubador publishing for a chance to read and honestly review this as part of the Random Things blog tour.
This novel is the first in a plannned five book series, looking at the fictional lives of real people through a period of major political and religious change, spanning approximately 130 years.
At the age of 76 years, the dream of many people is to retreat to their retirement homes and enjoy their sunset days in peace.
However, this is not the case for businesswoman and billionaire, Phylis Cristabel Wambura Wa Maranga who has expressed interest in the Mathira Constituency seat in the August 9 General Election.
The 76-year old joined Jubilee Party on Friday, March 25, and will be seeking to unseat Deputy President William Ruto’s strongman and fellow billionaire, Rigathi Gachagua. This will be her second shot at the parliamentary seat, having lost in the 2017 polls.
â€œIn 2017, we came here for a petition and we never came back again, but now that we are here, it is a sign that we have healed. Never again will Mathira be a hub of disgracing the Office of the President,â€ she stated while being received by the party’s Secretary General, Jeremiah Kioni.
Gachagua, who was once a life member of Jubilee Party, is set to defend his seat under Rutoâ€™s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party ticket.
After being away for five years, the soft-spoken Wambura made a come back in what she termed as a move to prove that age was just but a number, hoping to better the lives of the people of Mathira should she be elected.
Wambura first announced her interest in returning to elective politics on March 6, 2022, during a church service at Emmanuel ACK Church in Karatina.
The granny, who is also a lay leader at the Anglican Church, said her decision was informed by calls by the local population to represent them in Parliament.
â€œAlthough I have been away for five years, I have listened to the vibrant calls from the Mathira people who have been pressing me to come back. I now declare that Iâ€™m firmly in the race,â€ she stated after delivering the Sunday Service Sermon.
At this point, however, she had not announced the party ticket she would be running on.
In 2017, she contested for Mathira MP seat as an independent candidate but lost to Rigathi Gachagua – who was then running on a Jubilee Party ticket. Others in the race were former MP Peter Weru and George Warutere of Narc Kenya.
In her signature long dresses and trademark headscarf, Wambura adopted a door-to-door campaigns, a move she said helped her get closer to the residents and better understand their needs.
Later on, choppers became part of her campaign trail and she once landed at Mathaithi Primary School to attend a football match.
During the April 2017 party primaries, Wambura carried the day in the first round, but was defeated by Gachagua in the repeat, losing with less than 4,000 votes.
She insisted that she was rigged out of the party nominations and went ahead to vie independently.
She lost the General Election having secured 28,893 votes while Rigathi Gachagua won with 52,757 votes.
Today, I ran. I ran slow, I ran against everything my body wanted. But I ran. And I ran 5 miles.
And let me tell you, it was awful.
Like, really awful.
There was too. much. goddamn. WIND.
There was a headwind the entire run. That shouldn’t even be possible when you’re running a loop. But it happened.
I woke up with a headache and my lungs were screaming. I popped some Excedrin and puffed my inhaler. Neither decided to do their job today.
By the first mile and a half, I was cursing myself for even doing this.
And then came Gracie.
Gracie is a dog. A very rambunctious dog. Gracie decided she didn’t want to be in her backyard anymore, so she ran like hell.
Then I saw the boy. This poor boy was maybe seven or eight years old and trying his damndest to catch up to Gracie and bring her home.
So, I ran after Gracie. I ran a half mile in a circle running after Gracie. Finally, Gracie found a yard she liked, and decided to use it. The boy was able to grab her, but looked like he was ready to fall over. I asked him if he wanted me to walk home with him in case she broke free again. He looked down at the very disappointed dog, let out a giant sigh and muttered “yes, please.” After we both tried our hardest to hold onto her collar, she acted as though we were choking her, and it became too awkward to hold her back.
Being the ingenious person that I am (no ego here), I took off my running belt and clipped it around her collar. Now the boy had a makeshift leash, and he couldn’t have been happier. We finally saw Mom power walking toward us with Gracie’s real leash, and she thanked me for helping her son.
Then came the hardest three miles of my life.
Honestly, that’