It’s here! The Ebook version of my memoir is up on Amazon. Print on demand book available next month. Book launch party details coming soon!
Shadow
Just publish a memoir if you are curious to learn about the psychological phenomenon of the Shadow! Since the ebook version of The Importance of Paris became available on Amazon June 21st, reviews and feedback have been coming in. They’re teaching me a lot about my readers. I’ll share some in these newsletters:
“Strikes a good balance between intimate, personal relationships and world events…Few feel that connection as strongly. It was JUICY!! I loved reading about the experiences of love…in all its forms…. love of place, love of country, love of ideals, love of learning… erotic love, the love of friends and family… how fraught it all is, and how beautiful, and how necessary, and how difficult. Transcendent.” — Alison Veres
I loved this one. It’s generous and genuine.
On the other hand, some folks have gone completely silent. Observing the range of reactions by family and friends is instructive. Any newly published author needs to expect this. It can be surprising to see who your real friends are…. While some will congratulate you, others will not be able to celebrate your achievement, or compliment you on completing such a task, because of what might be going on in their Shadows.
Dealing with feelings of jealousy and envy are familiar to me because I felt them more often in the years before writing my book. It is hard to be happy for someone else when you are mad at yourself, though it took me awhile to see that connection. These reactions no longer surprise me after working on so many drafts of the memoir, which forced me to confront my own Shadow side. The good news is our Shadow sides are incredibly rich with insights if we dare to mine the darkness deeply.
Carl G. Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology, was the first to popularize this less savory aspect of human psychology. The Shadow and individuation issues were the chief contributors to his falling out with his psychoanalysis mentor Sigmund Freud. I highly recommend you do some exploring of your own Shadow.
Wisdom Wheel
The Shadow has been schooling me since creating the Wisdom Wheel in 1996 as it is the 17th Law of its 36 Laws. Holding the space from July 23 to Aug 22 on the calendar means this is the Birth Law of our Leo friends whose birthdays will soon be coming. Fire in the Heart Lions are the only ones who could deal so adroitly with the Shadow and Carl G. Jung is one of them.
What I’m Reading & Listening To
“Only the Shadow knows…” I’ve checked out the classic radio suspense show The Shadow on CD’s from our local library. Time to finally hear these Walter B. Gibson stories, which debuted on the radio this month of July, in 1930. After eight decades, I want to know what the staying power of this series was.
Workshop
A reminder to who did not make it to our pilot workshop, Would You, Could You, Should You Write A Memoir?: The Journey from Inception to Publication. We are offering it again, on Sunday September 15th and planning some writing retreats too for those who need to get away, for a week, or a month, to focus on a project. Contact me if you’d like to book a room to write in! As summer winds down and the kids return to school, (re)start your own writing project(s). 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 Saturday August 3, 10 am. And the following monthly ‘open’ community one will be for the Autumn Equinox on Sunday, Sept. 22, 10 am. Please RSVP as these fill up fast.
