To know me, right here and now, is to know I’m smack dab in the middle.
In the middle of my predicted lifespan (according to one of those online longevity calculators).
In the middle of figuring out how to get everybody everywhere and what to make for dinner again and again.
In the middle of rebuilding a career.
And above all, smack dab in the middle of tending to (and treasuring!) two generations at once: my blossoming children in the throes of their adolescent years on one end; my wise, graciously weathered, white-haired parents in the throes of their sunset years on the other.
While this middle place is where many of us are sandwiched between multiple responsibilities and relationships, wishing we could be two or more places at one time, it’s also rich with abundance and revelation!
During the past several months, I’ve partnered with the talented and big-hearted Christine Organ in the curating and editing of a profound book project called HERE IN THE MIDDLE: Stories of Love, Loss, and Connection from the Ones Sandwiched in Between.
We’re thrilled to announce we signed with a publisher and that it’s now in paperback, ready for order at a click of a button over at Amazon. (I don’t pull out Big Happy Face Coffee Mug for just any day.)
Artfully crafted by writers from around the country, HERE IN THE MIDDLE is a collection of stories that gives voice to the complexity of the middle place, not necessarily middle age, but that poignant space between generations and within the circle of life where our hearts are opened up through layers of love, loss, and connection.
Of course I couldn’t resist sneaking one of my own stories into the mix. It’s called “Beyond Describe,” and was inspired, in large part, by a poem my mom once dreamed at around four o’clock in the morning and by my dad’s response (while in a wrinkly T-shirt and boxer shorts with a head of tousled bed hair) when she nudged him awake to dictate it to him.
We hope you’ll join us on this gorgeous journey by ordering your copy today. We don’t pretend to offer answers to life’s big questions, but by opening our hearts on the page, we hope you’ll find solace, hope and camaraderie.
TWO WAYS TO ORDER:
1.) ORDER FROM AMAZON, CLICK HERE (Did you know the number of reviews a book receives on Amazon makes a HUGE DIFFERENCE on the reach of the book? Just sayin’.)
2.) TO ORDER A SIGNED COPY MAILED FROM ME TO YOU Click BUY NOW button below (DISCLOSURE: It costs a few more dollars this way, and I’m not famous, so you be the judge:-)
Meet the HERE IN THE MIDDLE storytellers
We are so grateful to those who contributed a story to HERE IN THE MIDDLE. They are a brave, gracious, vastly talented crew. If you haven’t already done so, consider clicking over to meet them at our book’s website: www.hereinthemiddlebook.com.
Click image to view bios and pics of all the storytellers and more over at HEREINTHEMIDDLEBOOK.COM!
Julie Jo Severson is a former PR girl, now mother of three and freelance writer and editor. She launched this blog, Carvings on a Desk, in 2015 to reconnect with her own voice swirling in the middle as she doodles about past, present, future clinking glasses and making peace.
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