What a Week❣️

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Here we are in Sun Valley, Idaho, having just experienced the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference.*  Wow! 

Although we heard many fine male authors,  the focus for me this year seemed to be on women.  I was especially uplifted to see and hear two women authors who are older than I am (imagine!)—Margaret Atwood and Judy Blume; their talent, accomplishments, verve and style were impressive…understatement.   

Then, as we were getting ready to hear our Sunday speaker, we got the news that Biden would not run for President again and that he was endorsing Kamala Harris for the candidacy  Wow, again! Might the United States elect its first woman President this year?

As I sit here now, looking up at the blue sky and floating puffy clouds, I am trying to absorb and digest all that has transpired over the last week.  I am trying to see “what is mine to do” in both the creative and political realms of life.  

“It is never too late to reinvent yourself,” author Kristen Hannah reminded us in her interview about her novel The Women. Okey! Well,  If not a full-out reinvention, maybe a tweak or two, here and there, might be in order.

Perhaps re-reading conference speaker Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird about writing will give me a nudge or two.   And I look forward to reading and seeing what inspiration might lie in Rabbi Sharon Brous’s book: The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Mend Our Broken Hearts and World.

And I want to learn more about the life and work of another speaker, Padma Lakshmi, the host of “Taste the Nation” and “Top Chef.” Reading her children’s book Tomatoes for Neela, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal, was a delight.

The book is a sweet family narrative, and includes “tomato fun facts,” two tomato recipes I hope to try soon, and an homage to the earth and farm workers who help bring us our food.  It is a reminder of “how we can connect to other cultures, as well as to our own, through food.”  

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And and as a post-conference end-of-week add-on, we watched the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Paris.  Talk about Wow 👩‍🎨🇫🇷🥖❣️

And so, dear readers, I hope you are finding inspiration this remarkable summer, whether through books, shared meals with people you love, or through hope that our nation and world can embark on a positive healing turn.

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* At www.svwc.com you can find some “livestream” recordings of  many of the authors’ talks and panels.