This post was first published by Women Writers, Women Books at http://booksbywomen.org Weaving technical expertise into creative writing Had you asked me five years ago if I would ever write a memoir, I might have answered “maybe.” If the query had been about writing a novel? Never! My brain, schooled and journeyed through decades of … Continue reading Using what we know to imagine what might have been
Returning to place
Does place pass through us, from those who came before? I suspect it must. Yesterday was my 30th wedding anniversary. I spent the morning with energetic, bright, curious kids - none I had met before - and the afternoon and evening alone. And although I love my spouse and was disappointed that he couldn't join … Continue reading Returning to place
Even when you call me Mother
It was the moment she referred to me as her mother. Although I knew she had suffered a tough week, I recognized a subtle, uncomfortable invitation into a new place. A different stage of life, for me – her daughter - and for her. I was also confused: I thought I had already stepped well … Continue reading Even when you call me Mother
Four feet of greatness
For Chloe Clarke – George Gill Montgomery’s grandmother; my great-great-great grandmother; Emily’s great-great-great-great grandmother – music provided a simple but serious pleasure on her arduous journey aboard the Lausanne. At twenty-one years old, Chloe left her hometown of East Windsor, Connecticut to join the Jason Lee missionary expedition of 1839; sailing around the horn of … Continue reading Four feet of greatness
Hair and formaldehyde, power and health
Life occasionally delivers moments when my newer author life intersects with my thirty-year industrial hygiene profession. I didn’t expect Brazilian Blowout to be captured within the pages of The Female Persuasion, as I leisurely read this 2018 novel by Meg Wolitzer while on vacation. This chemical hair straightener briefly shocked me away from my traditional … Continue reading Hair and formaldehyde, power and health
Apology 2: to the Grande Ronde River
It has been almost a year since My Music Man was released by Bedazzled Ink Publishing. Being a history lover but not professing to be a historian (like Dad) made me obsessive in re-checking historical facts captured within my pages. I was pleased to reference these details - that made me feel better - and … Continue reading Apology 2: to the Grande Ronde River
Unplugging
Yep. I admit it. I'm a bit addicted to my screen. Having returned from a few days unplugged in the beauty of Mt. Hood National Forest and adjoining wilderness areas I am even more fully aware of my reliance on it for work, life, writing. This realization took me back to October 3, 1981. My … Continue reading Unplugging
Resurrecting the magic of a Peninsula expedition
My kayak is tuned to the music of the Willamette River. Honestly. Yet smoky skies chased us away
The Portland Steamer keeps on puffing
"BUT OF ALL boats, Dad most loved steamboats. They ruled the stories he shared: carrying goods and passengers up and down the Columbia and the Willamette. Oh, to have been a passenger on the early steamboats puffing along the two-thousand-mile long Columbia River! Our Columbia: the river that introduced William and Chloe to the Oregon … Continue reading The Portland Steamer keeps on puffing
Wilsonville 1968: the big vote by a small community
In 1968, my dad - Dick Montgomery - and his brother Bill, sparred over whether Wilsonville should incorporate. Bill, my family, and my grandparents all lived on Montgomery Way on the bank of the Willamette. "While we were young and naive, we knew that adults disagreed about what should happen to our town and its … Continue reading Wilsonville 1968: the big vote by a small community
