by MarianBeaman | Aug 22, 2024 | blog, book review, Family / Nostalgia, Nostalgia, Reflection, Travel, Uncategorized
I am pleased to be part of author Liz Gauffreau’s blog tour, Day 10. To date, I’ve read Distant Flickers to which Liz contributed a short story and reviewed two of her books, Grief Songs and now Simple Pleasures. Liz shows up regularly to comment on my blog posts....
by MarianBeaman | Dec 13, 2023 | blog, book review, Literature, meditation, Quotations, Uncategorized
Medical Musings and Playing with Words Mercifully, I’ve skated through more than seven decades of life with few aches and pains. Over the years, my sympathy for others has extended to sending get-well cards, making phone calls and hospital visits....
by MarianBeaman | Nov 8, 2023 | blog, book review, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized
How do you listen to a podcast or Zoom interview? Sit and stare into space? Take a walk? Lounge on your couch? Chop vegetables for soup? Multi-task in some other way? Last month, Barbara Vitelli, also known as blogger Book Club Mom, interviewed me via Zoom. She was...
by MarianBeaman | Oct 4, 2023 | blog, book review, Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Quotations, Uncategorized
Do you crave sleep? Do you have a hard time going to sleep? Or, staying asleep? Falling Asleep Sleep is a sweet respite from the daily pressures of life. I treasure what Walt Whitman called the “free flight into the wordless, / Away from books, away from...
by MarianBeaman | Sep 27, 2023 | Amish fiction, book review, Conflict, Literature, popular culture, Quotations, Romance, Uncategorized
Turn on Hallmark Channel Watch for Glamorous female character, with swirling, highlighted hair and bright eyes. Note two handsome hunks: One real-estate mogul, loaded but with zero personality The other, a poor artist (or writer) with heart of gold...
by MarianBeaman | Aug 30, 2023 | blog, book review, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Quotations, Uncategorized
“If we’d open people up, we’d find landscapes.” ~ Agnès Varda I found this provocative line in a book I read recently (You Could Make This Place Beautiful by poet Maggie Smith, whose life has been rooted in Ohio). Seeing this line in her memoir, my mind...