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I've been a fan of Chelsea Cain from the time of her column in the Oregonian, and it was great to hear her and Lidia talking about their writing process and their book group. I am a member of a book group that is very similar to hers (for good reason; several of those of us who began the group have a friend or two in her group).

I related greatly to the way Lidia and Chelsea described the idea of writing for the members of the group -- I think, 'Dave will like this alliteration,' I wonder if Rebecca will particularly appreciate my gardening reference, I know that Dana will nod her head when I depict the reality of marital "bliss." and we, too, know each other so well that it's almost frightening sometimes -- whether we're writing fiction or non-fiction, we put so much of ourselves on the page and only we know how deeply much is true.

One week, early in our group, I brought a story about my husband. He had been in Kuwait for a few months at that point, and I had a particularly vivid dream. I wrote the story of the dream, which involved him dying, but told it from the point of view of inside the dream.

Two of the other members of the group were very, very uncomfortable for most of my reading, shocked that I would be coming to the group so soon after my husband's death. that taught me to do a better job of introducing the pieces I wrote... and the enduring value of trusting your writer's group with their darkest secrets (as long as those secrets aren't about one's family members having died in the past 30 days).

another thing I find hardest about writer's groups with really great writers is wanting to know how the work comes out -- and having to wait the interminably long time until they finish the book. this must be doubly hard for Chelsea's group -- who wants to know the end of the thriller!

posted 2 years, 3 months ago
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... and I meant to add, but was waiting to chat on the air, that it seems almost radical for a British prize to be awarded to an American connected to the war in Iraq, especially given the overwhelming criticism of British involvement in that war right now. I wonder if Elyse has had any difficult interviews or angry commentary about that?

And the discussion of the way one decides her story is important enough to tell was a weighty one; I too have struggled with the way military culture underplays the importance of one's experience, and disparages those that do not include a very high level of both risk and actual combat experience. My husband works for the Joint Visitor's Bureau in Kuwait; although he does drive important visitors to and from the airport, it's a largely administrative job and always outside combat areas. the military culture seems to ask, is this job worthy of accolade? Is any job outside the front lines something to take pride in? And most of the answers are "no," and even those on the front lines, those who do act valiantly in the defense of their fellow soldiers, minimize its significance.

Like Elyse, I believe in the power of story, and see all these stories as threads in the tapestry of war; whatever else we do, we must understand -- or at least recognize and bear witness to -- its staggering impact.

posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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I'm also a military wife and writer in Portland, and have listened to Elyse on BBC America and enjoyed her writing greatly. I've written a few long essays about the concept of being a 'waiting wife' in this age of technology, so I am finding Elyse's discussion fascinating.

I published a piece last fall in the Oregon Humanities magazine, http://www.oregonhumanities.org/magazine/section/writing/sarah-gilbert-on-penelope-and-being-an-army-wife/, and have submitted another long piece on heroes and heroines, based on this on my blog, http://www.cafemama.com/2010/nov/11_veterans_day.html

posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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I am a parent of three little boys, and being a mother was something I chose to do after the relatively footloose and fancy-free years of my early- and mid-twenties. I empathize with those who've struggled with infertility; and I honor the choices of those who've decided to focus on rewarding careers or artistic lives, instead of children; the raising of little children is too important to be forced upon those who don't truly wish to devote many, many long hours over years to their care. I also feel blessed that some loving and generous adults decide to play the role of "aunt" or "uncle"; we all need help sometime and it's great to have the community support of childless adults, too.

However, as someone who's committed to environmental change and has made a vast number of changes to my life to improve my impact on the environment -- I don't own a car and ride with my children on bikes, I only buy locally- and sustainably-raised meat and produce, among many other things -- I don't agree with the theory that the responsible choice for the world is to go child-free (or that people must stop at two children apiece; the repopulation rate is more like 2.2 or 2.3 children, *someone* has to have that extra kid!). Unless you believe that humans shouldn't exist on the earth, our biological imperative is to continue to populate the world at some level, even if that level is far different from the one we're living now; and if you're enlightened enough for that to be a huge concern for you, shouldn't *you* be the one having children and raising them in a way that teaches them how to tread more lightly on the planet; to improve our environment (by being farmers, or by teaching others how to consume less, or to become artists or craftsmen or scientists or conservationists or sensible leaders) instead of strip it? Humans have found it necessary to reproduce for millennia, and while progress has been destructive, surely these responsible people who consider their impact on the world are just the ones to reproduce.

posted 3 years, 8 months ago
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I'm a food writer who has been very interested in colony collapse disorder for the past few years, and as a result, I've been very conscious of what I grow in my garden. last year it *did* seem as if we had very few pollinators, and many of my food crops had very poor yield; after I read about the lack of nutrition for bees thanks to modern lawn care we dug up our lawn and stopped pulling dandelions. this year I grew big quantities of borage (known as "bee bread" in Europe), sunflowers, strawberries, blueberries, calendula, apples and a variety of herbs and let the beneficial weeds grow and the early food crops (lettuce, spinach, kale, etc.) go to seed.

the results have been phenomenal -- I don't know if it's due to the great bee food I provided, or all the renewed interest in vegetable and fruit gardening in Portland this year (I've seen garden boxes pop up in front yards and parking strips all around my SE Portland neighborhood), or the number of people who've started beekeeping nearby, or just the good growing season this year, but I'm thrilled. every time I see a pollinator on one of my flowers (which is often), I get a jolt of happy adrenaline.

one note on the almond crop problem: I believe that the almond monoculture is unsustainable and a big cause of the problem. agriculture can't possibly survive with this sort of artifical construct. I've stopped eating almonds entirely and exist happily on local, sustainably-grown hazelnuts. if the almond industry changed to a smaller, less intensive polyculture, wouldn't the supporting honeybee industry change so that it was less stressful and more nutritious for the pollinators?

posted 3 years, 11 months ago
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While I grew up in a canning household; my mom always had a pantry full of blackberry and strawberry jam, peaches, tomatoes, beets (which I always hated until I was in my 30s), pickles; I was afraid of canning until this year. my husband and I tried to make pickles a few years ago with an old cookbook from the library, and they came out awfully -- we finally threw the last jar away this spring and I started anew.

most of my impetus was the aspiration to eat locally. as part of that journey, I've been trying to know where *everything* in my diet comes from, and how it gets there. after having evaluated the history and chemistry of sugar, I just can't use it any more, so I've been doing all my canning with honey and maple syrup. at first it was limiting, but I started getting creative and extemporaneous and developed the most wonderful combinations using fruit from the farmer's market and herbs/flowers from my garden, like peach calendula and strawberry marjoram honey melon sage.

like everyone else here, I've done lots of tomato sauce and tomato jam -- and have much more to go! incidentally, last night LeAnn sent me her chile sauce recipe; I'm going to make it tomorrow during the show in your honor!

and cassandra2: I've been having a great time with a huge neighborhood fig tree. so far I've made pear fig lavender jam (SO good) and fig onion relish. I'm headed to the kitchen right now to make some more fig preserves.

posted 4 years, 8 months ago
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