I've been a
writer all my life. But I divide my writing into two parts ... past life and midlife.
During
my professional life, I wrote and produced films, videotapes and other
audio visual material for the business my husband Bob and I started. Our clients
were corporations,
small businesses, and non-profit organizations. Our projects won gold and silver
awards at the New York and Houston Film Festivals, a Clio, Producers' Choice,
National Education, Public Relations, and Agri-Marketing Awards. I wrote ad and
brochure copy, radio and television scripts, magazine articles, documentaries,
poetry, life stories, children's stories, essays and letters to the
editor. Writing stayed in my bones.
As
I grew older, I began to notice the negative attitudes toward aging , particularly
toward women, that came from
society and the media. I became more and more annoyed, particularly since I knew so many creative,
enthusiastic women, aged 40, 60, 80, and even 100 who contributed in all kinds
of ways to the world around them.
When a grant giver
said, "Old people are boring" and a lecturer
said, "Old is a four letter word," I went into action. After years of
writing and producing projects for others, I changed directions. I researched
women and aging. I became a storytelling guide to listen to others. I
interviewed women of age, and produced several videos that displayed the
positive side of aging. I ended up with The Wise Women Video Series, selected
for the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in
America.
The videos developed a life of their own. They are seen by women in groups, at
conferences, book stores, prisons and church circles. Women cancer patients, abused
women and homeless women use them to foster storytelling.
The Wise Women Series led to lectures at Canyon Ranch, Asilomar, Barnes and
Noble conferences and book festivals. I've gone to hotels, church basements, community centers, and art galleries.
Workshops developed for women going through menopause, career and
retired women, artists and women who call themselves Grandmothers, Wise Women, and
Crones. The videos segued into two classes called "Writing the Wise Woman
Within" and "Decades" at the University of Arizona Writing Works
Center. My philosophy of aging has appeared in several books: Healthy Aging, an
anthology; Multicultural Celebrations by Norine Dresser; and Celebrating the
Crone by Ruth Garner. My words have also appeared in Crone Chronicles and
Buffalo Women's Vison, as well as newspaper feature articles and newsletters.
I've met wonderful women from all parts of the country, and from other countries
as well. Although I've connected with hundreds of women, I know there are
hundreds
of thousands more out there, ready to share their wisdom with others. I'm lucky
to have met and learned from women of all ages, whose stories I've heard, and
whose creative energy has sustained me and others. I thank them,and honor them,
as I continue to write.
Writing didn't intrude on time spent with a beloved husband, four fascinating children and three amazing grandchildren.
TOP
OF PAGE
