The Remarkable Story of Fred Rivera and Herman Johnson By Thornton Sully, Editor-in-Chief, A Word with You Press Fred Rivera had an urgent need to write his story. That urgency was the motivation to strap himself in an office chair and fire a fusillade of words upon the blank field before him until the task…
Bestselling Author Marion Roach Smith Says, “Write What You Know!” By Meg Oldman We capture meaningful moments with our phones, shared celebrations, and committing events to memory. Few of us actually sit down and write about what we know about these moments. Marion Roach Smith has made it her business, literally and figuratively, to lead…
By Laura A. Roser Why Martin Luther King Jr. Didn’t Need Gimmicks A friend of mine called me all excited about a new video he posted on YouTube. It featured scenes of humans helping animals. “I’ve tried all kinds of videos,” he said, “but this one got the most views. It’s up over thirty-thousand! When…
By Laura A. Roser How to Preserve the Little Moments that Add up to the Novel of Your Life Growing up, I had a friend who became obsessed with scrapbooking. In high school, I remember going to her house, and she proudly showed me rows of family albums. What memories! She’d pull one from the…
Laura Roser’s Q&A with Carew Papritz About His Multi Award-winning Book, The Legacy Letters LR: What gave you the idea for The Legacy Letters? CP: I was inspired to write The Legacy Letters after an early mid-life crisis (best to have them early!). I needed the opportunity to take my soul out for a long walk. While working…
Documenting Your Past for a Better Future By Laura A. Roser “We’ve been doing some organizing,” my mother announced. She pointed to cardboard boxes resting on their basement floor. “That’s your stuff. Figure out what you want to keep.” I sighed. This is not how I wanted to spend my family visit. I begrudgingly opened…
Why Victoria Woodhull, The First Woman to Run for President in 1872, Remains the Heroine the World Almost Forgot by Laura A. Roser “When men attempt bold gestures, generally it’s considered romantic. When women do it, it’s often considered desperate or psycho.” – Sarah Jessica Parker The quote above may be the modern Sex-in-the-City reaction…
by Rachael Rifkin One of my all-time favorite gift ideas comes courtesy of Holly Burns’ blog, Nothing But Bonfires. For her dad’s 60th birthday, Holly collected friends and family members’ favorite memories of him, presenting them to him as a bundle of 60 letters. Here’s the email she and her family sent out to…
How My Grandfather’s Memoir Changed My Life Growing up, I knew my grandfather had written a Korean War memoir, but I wasn’t particularly interested in reading it. I assumed it was boring, filled with war talk and little else. I didn’t think of it for years, until he passed away and we were cleaning…
I remember telling my friend, who is a well-known author, that I was a little nervous to publish my memoir. “It’s so personal,” I said. “Do I really want to put myself there like that?” She said, “It’s all worth it. Somewhere, some woman is going through hell and you have a chance to help…
