Initiation

“Rather than roll a grenade into the room, I’ve written this book…”
— Cynthia F. Davidson, in The Importance of Paris, Acknowledgements

Sharing the Fourth of July fireworks, with the launching of this American expatriate memoir, feels significant. Though I can’t claim any credit for planning it, the coincidence is much appreciated. As you will see when you read the book, my intentions are to spark some serious discussions.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness…” from the US Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.

My story concerns the pursuit of happiness, life, liberty, truths, and self-evidence. And this publishing event happily marks my personal declaration of independence, from the decades of work, multiple versions, and endless edits of this book!

When the US Declaration of Independence from the British Empire was written 243 years ago, it was supposed to explain what was going to be different, about the purpose of these United States. Have we lived up to those promises?

As a woman, my rights were not included in that original declaration, nor were the rights of the enslaved or the indigenous people. We’ve had to fight for those rights, to education, equal opportunity, and even self-expression. My own grandmother was twenty years old before American women finally received the right to vote in this country in 1920. Yet we women have been expected to shoulder the burdens, without having any say in the decision-making process, much less a seat at the table of power.

Wisdom Wheel

Because of that July 4th birthday, the Birth Law of the United States is Initiation. Are we still a great experiment, or a disappointment to our own stated values? Equality is still not true for all. The combustion continues.

Writing News

People are asking me, “So, how’s your book coming along?” When I answer, “It’s done! It’s already up on Amazon!” they do a double take.

Getting used to being a published author, and not just another writer working on a book, takes practice for my friends too. In one of the regular circles I attend, Sarah Daigle’s Meeting of the Minds gathering, our topic was vulnerability and how the fear of asking for what you want/need holds you back. I’m working on asking for reviews of the memoir.

One of my first readers, Sheila Dobbyn, who attended the pilot workshop made my day when she wrote, “Cynthia, your book gets better and better! I am so excited for you. Maybe sometime I can have you and some of my other expat friends over for tea and you can exchange experiences and talk about your book. Also happy to introduce you to Inkfish book store owner who often brings in local authors.”

We are putting together a fundraising evening too, at an educational foundation where I will speak a bit about the Middle East and read from the book while we eat Lebanese food and hold a Q&A for those who attend. Hope to do a lot more of those!

For all of those who would like to hold the book in their hands, the print version of the book should be available early August. Stay tuned!

Workshop

Thanks to those who attended our pilot workshop, and made it so enjoyable. We’re offering it again, on Sunday September 15th. As summer ends and the kids return to school, (re)start your own writing project(s). Would You, Could You, Should You Write A Memoir? : The Journey from Inception to Publication. Only 8 spots per workshop to facilitate individual attention, so sign up soon. $160 per person.

Ceremonies

Never any charge for sacred ceremonies. Our next sweat (Purification) Lodge is Sunday, July 7, 10 a.m. And the following monthly open community one is on Saturday August 3. Please RSVP as these fill up fast.

Oral Storytelling

I went to Tell Newport at the Firehouse theatre recently. The theme that night was “The Last Straw.” Five people, mostly women, each had ten minutes to tell a true story, without notes or props. Taking the stage and speaking truths to strangers is heroic and their courage was infectious — better than sitting on the couch in front of a TV. One story, about combatting suicidal depression, after the theft of the popular election vote victory in the 2016 presidential race, stays with me: “…I pinned a ‘Free Hugs’ note to the back of my jacket and went out to offer what I could to other people who were also hurting.” Because of this illegitimate presidency, this storyteller has also lost access to healthcare during their transgender journey.
The Wisdom Wheel
Sharing the television spot about the Wisdom Wheel last month has connected me with old friends and the newly intrigued. How refreshing to rediscover “beginner’s mind” on this subject after discussing it for over twenty years. Some opportunities are in the works and if your organization needs a different kind of speaker or something out of the box to catalyze great discussions, contact me. I am always willing to hit the road for good causes and an honorarium.

Ceremonies

Our next Community Lodge is Feb. 16th at 10 a.m. Anyone wanting additional information about this or the annual four day Bear Fast coming up next month should contact me soon. No charge for ceremonies though we accept donations. These are the antidotes to commercialism and corruption.

The Memoir and Other Writing

Writing Groups

Books don’t get written in a vacuum and most of my Saturday mornings are spent with my writing group, hearing their written stories read aloud and sharing my own. The feedback of these friends and beta readers is priceless. Our latest prompt included “A Brush With Greatness” and I used a memoir excerpt.

Book Clubs

Being a regular reader is also important. Without savoring the tales told in great books, how would any of us recognize wonderful writing? Escaping into the magical realms enclosed between the pages has kept me sane. Two decades of faithful book club membership have become a most profitable investment. To understand not only what the well-proven mechanics are but what readers want. Ethos, Pathos, and Logos have been satisfying us since the days of Aristotle.

Please enjoy a short excerpt from my memoir below (for the “Brush With Greatness” prompt), and stay tuned for the book’s release this year.

Until next time,
Cynthia F. Davidson

An invitation came in the mail to a reception held by the mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac’s Hotel de Ville (City Hall). The occasion was the translation into French of a book of poetry written by Prince Abdullah al Faisal Al Saud. How my name had gotten onto the invitation list was a mystery. Perhaps Waddah? Or my old Mobil Oil boss who knew I wrote poetry? I decided to attend and responded to the RSVP.

The overly ornate interior of the Hotel de Ville (City Hall) was full of elegantly dressed people when I arrived on the appointed evening. The honor guard was going up the steps and we paused to allow the soldiers time to go through the flourishes, drawing their sabers. The trappings of empire, I thought while following them up the carpeted steps. Inside the large reception room huge chandeliers hung from the ceiling where frescoes of naked women and cupids frolicked in eighteenth century style. These would never be seen in the City Halls of Riyadh or Jeddah I noted dryly while passing beneath them.

Jacques Chirac, the mayor of Paris, seemed harried and sweaty when I shook his hand in the receiving line. That evening his introductory speech droned on and on about the long friendship between France and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I was thinking of the details he was leaving out. Who would tell the truth if I didn’t write it? Ruefully I recalled the real story Mazen had told me years ago about his father, Dr. Rashad Pharaon, being the first Saudi ambassador in Paris. Although the medical doctor had been born in Syria, King Abdul Aziz Al Saud had sent Rashad Pharaon to represent Saudi Arabia after the Second World War because he trusted him. By then Mazen’s father was the king’s personal physician, and he had treated many members of the royal family, curing them of syphilis too, if those rumors were correct.

Dr. Pharaon’s diplomatic credentials had been rejected at first by the French government because his name was still on their most wanted list. He had joined the resistance movement during the French occupation of the Levant (Syria and Lebanon) and part of an ambush that killed a French officer. A wanted man, Dr. Pharaon had fled south into the desert, ending up in Riyadh, where his medical talents were much appreciated. His medical degree had been earned in France, and he spoke the language and understood the thinking of the colonialists.

The Saudi king held fast and forced the French to accept the former resistance fighter as Ambassador Pharaon. Mazen was born in Paris during his father’s posting. His mother was already in labor on the way to the hospital and he arrived in the car on a bridge over the River Seine. He’d never known which of the city’s thirty-seven bridges it had been.

Now the featured poet took the podium, graciously thanking the mayor for his remarks. This Saudi Prince Abdullah was a grandson of that first Saudi King Abdul Aziz, and a brother of the current Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Saud. These brothers were both sons of the assassinated King Faisal, whose reign I’d lived under in Saudi Arabia. Prince Abdullah spoke exclusively in Arabic, with an interpreter. Reciting his poetry and making his remarks, he often stroked his nearly white goatee. Such a familiar gesture, I’d seen so many Muslim men touch their beards this way, while swearing Wahayat Allah, by the beard of the Prophet.