“There is no such thing as an average memoir, but if there were, Karen Walker’s story, Following the Whispers — Creating a life of inner peace and self-acceptance from the depths of despair, would not be among them.”So begins the review of Following the Whispers that I wrote last month after reading this remarkable book that is hot off the press. Rather than going into detail about the book here, I encourage you to click over and read that review.
I was especially impressed with Karen's amazing ability to compress a huge chunk of life into a mere 163 pages, and to do it in a way that feels complete, without loose ends. Wanting to know more about how she accomplished this feat, I contacted her and invited her to be the first guest on a new series of podcasts that I am launching to supplement the written content of this blog.
As you listen to the fifteen minute interview, you'll discover that we ran far afield of our original topic, covering some interesting territory like the personal transformation she underwent during her twenty-year journey to complete this book, self-publishing, and personal essays. Tune in to learn the secret of writing a juicy and compelling essay. Click the arrow on the audio player below to listen to the podcast now, or right-click the link below and select "Save Link As" to download it for listening later.
Note: Since publishing this post, I discovered the player does not appear in Internet Explorer, due to conflicts between Google's Blogspot software, code for the Google MP3 player and IE requirements. If you don't see the player, left-click the link below to play the podcast, and right-click it to download the file. Of course you could switch to Firefox... I see myself climbing another level of the learning curve very soon!
For further information about Karen and to read some of her stories, visit her website.
Please let me know what you think of the podcast. I'm considering doing them every now and then, and I welcome suggestions for guests. I encourage you to suggest yourself if you have some experience to share about life writing and/or a self-published book.
Write now: use the secret Karen shares in the podcast to write a personal essay.
4 comments :
Hi Sharon.
I was able to listen to this but only after *left* clicking the note that says "right click." I'm listening to it right now, as we speak. It's awesome that you and Karen have pulled this together. It's fun and instructive to hear your interview.
Jerry
Memory Writers Network
Thanks for the heads-up on the link jinx. I did not think to test things in Internet Explorer. My bad. This learning curve I'm climbing is STEEP!
Thank you for sharing this enlightening conversation with us, Sharon. I appreciate the podcast format because it's something I can take with me to learn on the go. This was a great discussion and now Karen's book is on my list of books to buy in the near future. I hope you do more podcasts!
Thanks for the encouragement Linda. Yes, podcasts are great for listening on the go. I took one to listen to while waiting for an appointment earlier today. I will do more.
Post a Comment