The Negev Desert was a land of extremes – by day a white-hot griddle; by night a blackened skillet; at dawn a copper pot; at dusk a painted gourd. Its unforgiving rocks and sharp scent reminded me of my early childhood in Texas and Kansas, where the harshness of the land had somehow made me…
I couldn’t resist the beauty of the nocturnal sky as I crept up on deck alone. A shimmering canopy of stars arched over the cobalt sea, falling to the horizon like a fishnet tugged tight by unseen hands. Flying fish played in the ship’s wake, their silvery tails and bellies twisting and flashing in the…
As a young woman my mother had made her own Atlantic crossing to bring my sister and me from England to America. Our parents had met in the midst of World War II, when Dad was an American GI stationed in Britain and Mom was coordinating live entertainment for the Rosy the Riveters, working in…
The Israel that greeted me on that distant, dusty road no longer exists except in memory. Today, parts of the Promised Land have been paved over to such an extent that the life and landscape of the early sixties in this story may sound fantastical. Humming freeways carry a population of nine million between skyscrapers…
A transformative story told with poetic description and the adventurous spirit of youth. Read the review here. Join Paula’s Literary Circle to get the latest updates on Labyrinth of the Heart and be the first to know when pre-orders open. Sign up in the footer below.
I was honored to be interviewed on June 13, 2019, by Linda Joy Myers, founder of NAMW (National Association of Memoir Writers). It was a special pleasure because I had worked on this memoir in Linda’s Writing as Healing class over several years. With Linda Joy’s encouragement and support, I discovered an authentic voice and…
Newcomers in an Ancient Land is honored to be listed among the top seven non-fiction best summer reads by Brit.co with over a million in readership! Read: 7 Non-Fiction Books That Will Give You All the Feels This Summer Join Paula’s Literary Circle to get the latest updates on Labyrinth of the Heart and be…
This journey begged the question once again: where did I belong? Where was home? Perhaps I wasn’t charting my own course after all. Maybe I was simply following in my mother’s footsteps by leaving her, just as she had left her own mother to come to America. Now my sister Naomi and I would be the second generation of daughters to leave our mother for a foreign land.
Greetings for the the Lunar New Year – also known as Chinese New Year, the Tet Festival (in Viet Nam) and the Spring Festival! Celebrations well under way throughout China, Southeast Asia and the of course, the San Francisco Bay Area where I live.
As East coast and Midwestern Americans huddle in the grip of sub-zero temperatures, I feel (almost) guilty for enjoying a balmy breeze on this last day of January.