TRAVELING TWO LANE ROADS

Last week I talked and signed at five Nebraska libraries. As a psychotherapist I am accustomed to listening, not talking. In the heart of the plains, with Nebraskans’ welcoming ways, I was able to find my voice. I’m indebted to my sister Monna who participated in every discussion and navigated us across the state. Her children, librarians and the media were helpful. My family invited friends, advertised and set up; often refreshments were served. I felt almost a celebrity rather than the struggling author that I am.

A young woman, excited about “Family at Booknoook,” explained that she had just been reunited with a daughter that she had had out of wedlock. Friend Zola said that she took the book to bed intending to read a few chapters and finished it at 3:00a.m. Karen Noonan, the assistant director of Kilgore Library in Grand Island, indicated that she could see every scene and that it felt like a movie.

Husband Murray tells me to stay on message. Repeating myself time and again helped me to clarify what that is.

My Message: In spite of abuse, or difficult life situations, people can learn to trust, love and take control of their lives. There are no fairytale endings but we can develop skills to meet life challenges.

This relates to my becoming a published author at sixty nine. I have stories to tell; you too have a story. If you hone your skills and persist, in this age of technology, you can publish a book. It can be a simple spiral bound for the family or something more ambitious. Or, you may choose not to write. You may thirst for knowledge, to travel, to cultivate exotic plants or something that others do not know about.

The message: Identify your passions and follow them.

That said, there will be set backs along the way. I stumble along this path of self actualization. Being consumed with promoting “Family at Booknook,” I have neglected my second novel. And, I often make errors.

On this trip I forgot that the time changes between Imperial and Hastings. Thus, Monna and I arrived eight minutes after Jennifer Berry’s KHAS TV show had ended. Also I did not trust my GPS getting back to the Denver airport, and was stuck between two freeways before I had the sense to use the GPS

To error is human. To learn from error is growth. I will not make these mistakes a second time. Maybe.

PICTURES FROM NEBRASKA TOUR