Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


Mar 22

14

Listen To Me by Lynne Podrat: Interview, Giveaway

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on March 14, 2022
Posted in Book Tours • Guest Authors/ Interviews • My Past Giveaways  | Tagged With: , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Listen To Me by Lynne PodratListen To Me: How My Down Syndrome Brother Saved My Life by Lynne Podrat

Publisher: LP Press (August 19, 2021)
Category: Non Fiction, Memoir, Special Needs, Disabilities, Down Syndrome, Siblings
Tour dates: March 14-April 14, 2022
ISBN: 978-1737666806
Available in Print and ebook, 128 pages
Listen To Me

Description Listen To Me by Lynne Podrat


This memoir was written to honor my youngest brother’s influence over my life, the good, the bad, and the ugly of living with a Down Syndrome sibling. It tells the story of the children in my family, despite our parents’ frailties, remaining committed to each other through life’s many changes and separations. Who I am today is directly related to the who I needed to become.

Praise Listen To Me by Lynne Podrat


“As the intertwined life stories of the author and her brother Bruce emerge, the story takes on a new tone. Bitterness and rancor are replaced with a gentle kind of mellowness and a roaring-fire-on-a-cold-winter-day kind of warmth. This is underscored when the author writes that her plans for Bruce were “to open and enrich his world.” In the end, however, she realizes how being with Bruce “accomplished so much more.” She realizes how this “sweet small man” and “Bruce’s” capacity to love and to “just go on because there was no other choice” profoundly influenced her life. And how Bruce opened and enriched her world.
Oh, and the title? You’ll have to read the book for yourself to figure that one out.
Flavored with gentle humor and tongue-in-cheek wit, Listen to Me isn’t a long read. At about 30,000 words, you can finish it in an afternoon. But the reflections and insights will reverberate much longer.”- Kristine, Pages and Paws

“This book is a touching story about the unconditional love between an older sister and her brother, Bruce. The prose is uplifting and inspirational, without the traces of ableism that can be found in other such works. The overall message is a plea to see people for who they are, not their diagnosis and aims to increase disability awareness.”- Laura Quinn, Laura Quinn Writes

“This memoir is exactly what I needed. It made me laugh and cry and helped me appreciate the people in my life even more than I already did. Bruce’s love for his family, friends, and favorite rock ‘n’ roll idols lives on through this book. His larger-than-life personality left such an impression on me; I can honestly say that I feel like I know him without ever having met him. I think about him from time to time and his essence inspires hope in me, showing me how precious it is to have an innocent view of life at any age.
This book means so much to me. Lynne Podrat is a true artist with her words and the life she created around the people she loves. Her tenacity and devotion to her family—and herself—is unparalleled. She is a badass. If I could just accomplish half of what she has, I would be happy.”-Sandi, Proof Reader Sandi

Interview with Lynne Podrat

Teddy: Please tell us something about ‘Listen To Me’ that is not in the summary.  (About the book, person you particularly enjoyed writing etc.)

Lynne: Although you learn about my middle brother, David from references within the stories and come to appreciate his devotion to Bruce, I tried very hard not to tell his story within our story. I could guess the effect Bruce’s life had on his, making David the big brother and the middle sibling, having attention taken away, watching parents struggle while a young child himself, but the writing of this was so much more than a sibling story. This was written to honor Bruce’s life and how love and advocacy can turn anyone into SOMEONE.

Teddy: How did growing up with your brother, Bruce impact being a mother?

Lynne: What a good question. Initially, I had no desire to have children as I had already been a caregiver. However, once pregnant there was no turning back. Downs can be hereditary so I did have an amniocentesis with my son and a CVS with my daughter, as I was 37, the same age as my mother when she had Bruce. I didn’t think I could bring another special- needs child into the family having witnessed the heartbreaking reactions of my parents and grandparents.

Also, my unwavering belief in parents being the safety net for children became apparent when my father passed, and even stronger when my mother passed and my son’s family was with us in Colorado when we received the news. While my son was discussing funeral arrangements with his Rabbi in Florida (we belong to the synagogue in Vail) the Rabbi asked how we were handing the news, travel back and Shiva. His reply, “My mom is OK so everyone else is OK. She laughs, we laugh, she’s quiet, my daughters rally around her. She is a force to be reckoned with.”  Bruce passed while I held his hand in the hospital. My nieces discussed with my children, how best to support me while I  “fell apart” at the loss of my baby brother. While my daughter has always ensured me I could fall apart, lose control, or be inconsolable, and the children would be OK, that will never happen no matter their age. Why? My son said it best. My mom is OK so everyone else is OK no matter who is falling apart around them., I have always been and will continue to be the strength on which they can draw.

Teddy: Can you tell us 3-5 positive things that came out of your relationship with Bruce?

Lynne: This is easy; The pure joy of being loved unconditionally; My patience for how others learn; overcoming my shyness to ask for things for myself as I gained confidence asking for others; my extended family, sister Janice, and others working at KenCrest; My moral compass of justice and fairness.

Teddy: How long did it take you to write ‘Listen To Me’ from concept to fruition?

Lynne: From actually sitting down to create the manuscript from my written notes to the launch date, 11 months.

Teddy: Where did you get the inspiration for your cover?

Lynne: Prior to any serious thought to cover design, I knew the flower would be included on the cover as it was what my brother had chosen for his funeral. My team at Social Books Agency had me research colors, pictures lettering and fonts of other memoirs and autobiographies so my top 3 choices of color scheme, matching the flower, font and lettering were solid prior to even formatting the book.  I wanted a picture of children on my cover, none resonating for me. Pure luck had me finding old pictures when we were young that had been stuck in photo albums I had taken from my mother’s apartment after her passing. I hadn’t looked at these albums and thought, perhaps, something would catch my fancy. There we were, in black and white, at the beginning of our journey together. Shading was added to blend with the flower, white instead of beige to accent the blues and blue lettering instead of black for softer blend of color.

Teddy: Which actor/actress would you like to see playing yourself and Bruce, if ‘Listen To Me’ were to be made into a movie or TV show?

Lynne: Thank you for asking this as quite a few people have mentioned they would love to see this as a TV movie so they can “hear” Bruce’s and my conversations.

As the adult me, Sandra Bullock is my size and can be funny, which we learned from Ms. Congeniality. Teen age/college and young adult, perhaps Maddie Ziegler (dancer and athletic) or Millie Bobbie Brown, has my coloring. Not a clue about my 13 -year -old self.

As for Bruce, quite a few down syndrome actors could play him as an older teenager and adult. I am not familiar with younger down syndrome actors.

Teddy: What are you currently working on? Is there another book in your future?

Lynne: I am back to focusing on my first completed manuscript, a children’s book, My Sister Wants An Elephant, looking for an illustrator with whom to partner.


About Lynne PodratListen To Me by Lynne Podrat


Lynne Podrat graduated from the Pennsylvania State University and then spent fifteen years in the Fashion Industry as an Assistant Buyer and Department Manager with Bloomingdales Department Store before returning to school to receive her educational degrees from Arcadia University and Gynedd Mercy.

A retired educator and Administrator from the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania School District, she taught English, literature, composition and history in elementary and secondary schools.

She has secretly been a writer and poet her whole life, but has only recently chosen to share those talents with the world. Lynne now lives with her husband in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, spending winters dragon boating where her heart races and summers hiking the Rockies in Vail, Colorado where her heart sings.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lynne.podrat
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lynnepodratwrites/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lynne_podrat

Buy Listen To Me by Lynne Podrat


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Giveaway Listen To Me by Lynne Podrat


This giveaway is for 3 print copies, one for each of 3 winners and is open to the U.S. only. This giveaway ends on April 15, 2022 midnight, pacific time.  Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.

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Listen To Me by Lynne Podrat

Jan 22

27

Finding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels: Review

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on January 27, 2022
Posted in Book Tours • Books Read in 2022 • Excerpt  | Tagged With: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Finding Sisters by Rebecca DanielsFinding Sisters: How One Adoptee Used DNA Testing and Determination to Uncover Family Secrets and Find Her Birth Family by Rebecca Daniels

Publisher: Sunbury Press (September 14, 2021)
Category: Non Fiction, Memoir, Genetic Genealogy, Adoption, Family Reunion, Extended Families
Tour dates: January-February, 2022
ISBN: 978-1620065587
Available in Print and ebook, 125 pages
Finding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels

Description Finding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels


Where does she come from?

Who are her genetic parents?

Who is she?

Does she even want to know?

With almost no information of her genetic heritage, adoptee Rebecca Daniels follows limited clues and uses DNA testing, genealogical research, thoughtful letter writing, and a willingness to make awkward phone calls with strangers to finally find her birth parents.

But along the way, she finds much more.

Two half-sisters.

A slew of cousins on both sides.

A family waiting to be discovered.

With the assistance of a distant cousin in Sweden and several other DNA angels on the internet, Daniels finally comes face to face with her birth mother just months before her passing. Join in on this author’s discovery of family and self in ‘Finding Sisters: How One Adoptee Used DNA Testing and Determination to Uncover Family Secrets and Find Her Birth Family.’

My Thoughts Finding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels


Rebecca Daniels has known from a young age that she and her younger brother were adopted.  However, she always felt loved by her adoptive parents and didn’t think much about who her birth parents were.

One day, quite some time after her parents died, a friend, told Rebecca that she was going to have DNA testing and that Rebecca should as well.  After giving it some thought, she decided to do it.  Her main objective was to find out about any genetic health problems in her birth family.

After submitting her DNA, lots of results started coming in.  A bunch of distant cousins, including one in Sweden, Thomas.  It turned out to be excellent that she reached out to him as he was really into ancestry and genetics, himself and was very knowledgeable.  Via email, he was able to lead Rebecca down the path of finding closer relatives.  She eventually found her birth mother who was still alive and living with Rebecca’s half sister. Rebecca arranged to meet them and spend time with them. They lived in a different state.  Eventually, she goes on to find more connections including a half sister on her paternal side.

Rebecca shares a lot of information about the steps she took in her search but in such a way that it never got boring.  In fact, I couldn’t put the book down and read into the wee hours of the morning. I am a huge fan of the television show ‘Long Lost Family’ so, when I found out about this book, I knew I had to read it.  If you enjoy well written memoirs, this book is for you.  If you are interested in ancestry and DNA testing and results, this book is for you! I give it 4.5/5 stars and highly recommend it!

I received the eBook for my honest opinion.

Excerpt Finding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels


Excerpt from Chapter Two: I Think We Might Be Related

While I understood exactly what Thomas was talking about, I still didn’t want to move too quickly. I wanted to give Glenna an out in case she really didn’t want to be found, so when I finally wrote that letter, it didn’t say, “I think you’re my mother!” Instead, the phrase I used in my letter was, “I think we might be related.” I decided on a short, hand-written note that told her I had been doing some research into my birth family, that I knew I had been a Baby Jane Doe G—, and that I was wondering whether she was the same Glenna G— who had married Arthur H— in Bremerton less than three months after my birth in the same town.

During the time I was working on exactly what to say to Glenna in my letter, Thomas continued to do research on Glenna’s family and discovered that her adopted mother, Flora, had a sister in Washington State, which made me even more certain we were on the right track. I wrote him back immediately:

That makes a lot of sense to me and is a very exciting development. I’ve been trying to figure out how and why a girl from South Dakota would go to WA State to have her baby, and this information helps a lot. From what I know of illegitimate pregnancies and how they were generally handled in the 1940s and 50s, girls were often sent away when the pregnancy began to show, usually to live with another female relative [ostensibly to help them with something that the par­ents could comfortably say they are having difficulty with . . . losing weight, doing better in school, getting her emotions under control, etc.], to have the baby there, and then give it up for adoption, before returning home as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, except that the girl was now more tractable and socially appropriate.

. . .

While I was working on my letter to Glenna, I also started looking for April on Facebook. Luckily for me, she had her privacy screens set so that I could see a few photos of her, and she had also included a couple of images of her parents, Dorian and Glenna, on her page. I wrote to Thomas immediately, but while he had a basic profile, he was not a regular Facebook user, joking that he might be the last person on the planet who is not, but when I sent him the photos I had downloaded from April’s Facebook page, along with a couple from my own page, he replied almost immediately:

April really looks like Glenna. And so do you! You are a young version of her. These pictures are more than I could hope for. We are lucky that you look like Glenna and April. April could have looked like Dorian, but she obviously looks like her mother. The same holds true for you. You seem to have gotten most of your facial features from Glenna’s side. After seeing Glenna’s and your portraits side by side, I am as convinced as I can get that your birth mother is found. The only thing that can make me even more sure is after you have been in contact with Glenna and got it all confirmed with her.

I also sent the photos to a friend here in Massachusetts and asked her if she saw the resemblance. Her reply? “These are your people; this is your tribe.” So, all that remained for me to do was to send that letter to Glenna, and this new information did nothing to change my strategy for what I wrote in the letter. The evening before my birthday, I wrote out a card by hand and got it ready to mail on the morning of March 17, 2015. That same evening, I got an email from my new cousin, Barbara, who had received my letter and wanted to set up a phone conversation the next day. I immediately sent a note to Thomas, telling him about both Barbara’s email and my note to Glenna:

I wrote a short note to Glenna, one that says, “I think we might be related,” so she can finesse the situation if she’s never told April about the adoption [presuming the circumstantial evidence is correct]. I’m nervous but excited to hear from her, but everything I’ve been reading about the post-WWII adoptions tells me that she could have been keeping this secret for 60+ years, and she might not want to open that can of worms at all. Or she might be thrilled to find her daughter, finally. Or anything in between. I didn’t write to April. I’m going to let Glenna tell her whatever she wants to tell her . . .

Thomas wrote back to say he was excited and happy for me and would be squeezing his thumbs for good luck about these contacts I was making, also telling me he appreciated me keeping him informed about the situation, but he did want to disagree with me about one thing:

I think you handled the contact note with Glenna perfectly. Of course, she will understand who you are, and in the same time, you really show her and April all the possible respect. Well done!

There is only one thing I do not agree with—at all—to call your situation a can of worms! You are gift!!! You were a gift 66 years ago that your birth parents, by reasons we do not know, were not able to take care of. No doubt it was your birth mother’s hardest decision during all her life to give you up. Then you became a gift for your parents. And now you might be a most unexpected gift, 66 years later.

I hoped he was right, that my message to Glenna would be welcomed, though I had no further expectations than that. Frankly, it was all I could manage at the time, emotionally speaking. I had initiated contact with some close members of my probable birth family, and now, less than a month after my first interactions with Cousin Thomas, and thanks to his genealogical expertise and enthusiasm, I was standing on the verge of moving from research to reality!


About Rebecca DanielsFinding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels


Rebecca Daniels (MFA, PhD) taught performance, writing, and speaking in liberal arts universities for over 25 years, including St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY, from 1992-2015. She was the founding producing director of Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland, OR, and directed with many professional Portland theatre companies in the 1980s.

She is the author of the groundbreaking Women Stage Directors Speak: Exploring the Effects of Gender on Their Work (McFarland, 1996, 2000) and has been published in multiple professional theatre journals. After her retirement from teaching, she began her association with Sunbury Press with Keeping the Lights on for Ike: Daily Life of a Utilities Engineer at AFHQ in Europe During WWII; or, What to Say in Letters Home When You’re Not Allowed to Write about the War (Sunbury Press, 2019), a book based on her father’s letters home from Europe during WWII.

She had always known she was adopted, but it was only as retirement approached, and with a friend’s encouragement, that she began the search for her genetic heritage through DNA testing. Finding Sisters explores how DNA testing, combined with traditional genealogical research, helped her find her genetic parents, two half-sisters, and other relatives in spite of being given up for a closed adoption at birth.

She is currently working on a new memoir about her late-in-life second marriage and sudden widowhood titled Adventures with the Bartender: Finding and Losing the Love of my Life in Six Short Years.

Website: https://rebecca-daniels.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebecca.daniels.9

Buy Finding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels


Amazon
Sunbury

Giveaway Finding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels


This giveaway is for 1 print copy and 1 pdf copy. Print is open to the U.S. only  and pdf is open worldwide. This giveaway ends on February 26, 2022 midnight, pacific time.  Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.

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Follow Finding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels


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Finding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels

Jan 22

3

Finding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels-Interview

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on January 3, 2022
Posted in Book Tours • Memoir • My Past Giveaways • Non-Fiction  | Tagged With: , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Finding Sisters by Rebecca DanielsFinding Sisters: How One Adoptee Used DNA Testing and Determination to Uncover Family Secrets and Find Her Birth Family by Rebecca Daniels

Publisher: Sunbury Press (September 14, 2021)
Category: Non Fiction, Memoir, Genetic Genealogy, Adoption, Family Reunion, Extended Families
Tour dates: January-February, 2022
ISBN: 978-1620065587
Available in Print and ebook, 125 pages
Finding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels

Description Finding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels


Where does she come from?

Who are her genetic parents?

Who is she?

Does she even want to know?

With almost no information of her genetic heritage, adoptee Rebecca Daniels follows limited clues and uses DNA testing, genealogical research, thoughtful letter writing, and a willingness to make awkward phone calls with strangers to finally find her birth parents.

But along the way, she finds much more.

Two half-sisters.

A slew of cousins on both sides.

A family waiting to be discovered.

With the assistance of a distant cousin in Sweden and several other DNA angels on the internet, Daniels finally comes face to face with her birth mother just months before her passing. Join in on this author’s discovery of family and self in ‘Finding Sisters: How One Adoptee Used DNA Testing and Determination to Uncover Family Secrets and Find Her Birth Family.’

Praise Finding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels


“Finding Sisters is an excellent example of what it takes to solve a family mystery. Yet it’s also a captivating story of human relationships in the age of secrecy-revealing DNA databases. As Rebecca Daniels so skillfully illustrates, DNA tests are most effective when combined with conventional genealogical research, thoughtful letter writing, and a willingness to get on the phone for some awkward conversations with complete strangers. Like many of us, the author wasn’t even sure she wanted to attempt this search. Then—in making contact with newfound relatives—she experienced both acceptance and rejection. By sharing her thoughts and insights throughout this journey, Rebecca makes the story refreshingly honest and personal. Like no other DNA success story, Finding Sisters uses footnotes and family tree diagrams to show exactly how the search unfolds. This makes the book a clever hybrid of a memoir and a case study.”-Richard Hill, Author of “Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA”

“I would, hands down, recommend Finding Sisters to anyone who is contemplating going on this journey of discovery. Rebecca Daniels lays out quite beautifully what one can expect from a logistical standpoint, while acknowledging that the emotional ride might be different for everyone. I particularly liked at the end how she wrote about not having any huge “aha” releases. I find that to be true of therapy as well. There are breakthroughs and insights, and then we usually move slowly toward change. I think this book does great justice to the idea that it is the journey and not necessarily the destination. I think sometimes we think we are going to find the piece that makes everything else make sense, but that kind of shifting ground is reserved for the movies and near-death experiences. I think Finding Sisters reflects this reality well when it comes to change.”–Jay Sefton, Licensed Mental Health Counselor

“In Finding Sisters, Rebecca Daniels becomes a detective taking the reader on an intriguing hero’s journey to solve the mystery of her roots. The rollercoaster of complex emotions is evident as she navigates her way through today’s popular DNA ancestry websites connecting surnames, diving down rabbit holes, hitting dead-ends and making break-through discoveries. Along the journey, Daniels receives significant virtual guidance from newly found distant relative Thomas, forming an enigmatic relationship that will prove both beautiful and haunting. The adopted person’s journey is an important one to understand, and Daniels serves us well by bravely sharing her story.”–Brian Stanton, actor/writer of the film @ghostkingdom and solo play “BLANK,” both pieces about adoption, search and reunion

“In Rebecca Daniels’ memoir Finding Sisters, she takes us on her personal journey for answers surrounding her adoption, birth family, and ancestral heritage and introduces us to genealogy research and the increasingly popular genealogy websites that make familial matches from DNA databases. Of all the encounters and relationships, she chronicles during her search, I found the most interesting and endearing to be the one formed with a genealogy expert she befriended online after entering into the intriguing world of DNA discovery. This book is not just ideal for those interested in genealogy research and ancestry websites, but also those wanting to uncover more of what makes them who they are. And isn’t that all of us to some degree?”–Maia Williamson, author of Where the Tree Frogs Took Me

Interview With Rebecca Daniels

TR: Please tell us something about ‘Finding Sisters’ that is not in the summary.  (About the book, character or person you particularly enjoyed writing etc.)

RD: The book summary mentions that my search for genetic relatives happened “with the assistance of a distant cousin in Sweden,” and it’s that distant cousin, Thomas, who actually made the entire story possible and eventually became one of the most interesting characters in my journey. Without his encouragement, expertise, and tutelage, I’m not sure I would have been able to make the discoveries I did over the course of my four-year search process. He’s really a very critical character in the story of my genetic genealogy journey.

TR: You used a couple different online platforms to search for your blood relatives.  Can you tell us a bit about the process and if you found one better than the other?

RD: When I started my search, I didn’t realize that the various online platforms for DNA testing didn’t share their data, so to be successful I eventually put my DNA samples into two different databases (Family Tree DNA and Ancestry). I found critical family members in each of the different databases. Family Tree was particularly good with the detailed DNA information, and Ancestry was valuable because in addition to the DNA matching offered, it also offers an extensive collection of research documents related to more traditional genealogy information, such as census information, birth, death, and marriage records, etc. Frankly, I don’t think most people can have a truly successful search without using more than one platform for research and DNA matching.

TR: How much time and effort went into your research for ‘Finding Sisters’?

RD: Hard to quantify this with any specificity, but I was completely obsessed with the search in my spare time (was still working full time for the first two years after submitting my first DNA sample) for between two and a half to three years.

TR: Where did you get the inspiration for your cover?

RD: My publisher hired a cover designer who asked me for any ideas I had for the cover. Initially, I made two suggestions. The first was some kind of artistic interpretation of a traditional family tree using some of the photos of family members I was discovering as my search progressed. The second idea was to use the DNA double helix or chromosome charts as an impressionistic background for the lettering of the book title. The designer created drafts for me to choose from using both ideas, and everyone I showed them to chose the tree image as the more engaging and interesting image. The designer is the one who suggested the use of an actual tree (instead of a more traditional family tree-style chart format), using a photo she had taken, with a few images of my new relatives floating in the branches. The faces on the cover include my birth mother as a teenager (upper left, likely taken the year before she had me), my paternal grandmother (right), and a deceased maternal half-sister that several new relatives believed I strongly resembled (lower left).

TR: What is your favorite scene in the book? Why?

RD: My favorite scene in the book is in chapter four where I meet my birth mother in person. It was part of an intense and wonderful three day visit, and writing about that visit helped me to clariy and relive the experience in my memory. My other favorite scenes are the in-person meetings with each of my new half-sisters.

TR: Which actress would you like to see play yourself, if a movie were to be made from ‘Finding Sisters’?

RD: I think Laura Linney would be a good choice to play me in the movie of Finding Sisters. She often plays characters who are strong and self-assured but not overbearing and is able to reveal their vulnerabilities without being overly emotional, both qualities good friends have told me I exhibit.

TR: How long did it take you to write ‘Finding Sisters’ from concept to fruition?

RD: During my genealogy search, I kept all my correspondence and research notes during that four-year period (2014-2018), which became excellent source material for the book once I decided to write it. I first started writing the chapters and sharing them with my women writers group in spring of 2018, made the proposal to Sunbury (the small press that published my WWII book, Keeping the Lights on for Ike) and signed the contract with them for Finding Sisters in early 2020. Then COVID threw a wrench into everything, and we didn’t actually start the editing process until the spring of 2021, with the book and cover design work unfolding during the summer months. The book finally came out in September of 2021.

TR: What writers have you drawn inspiration from?

RD: I have been strongly influenced by writers who tell engaging stories about normal people in unusual circumstances: Rick Atkinson (The Liberation Trilogy; he was also very influential for me when writing Keeping the Lights on for Ike), Kate Moore (Radium Girls), and Joan Didion (The Year of Magical Thinking).

TR: What are you currently working on?

RD: I’m currently working on a memoir about my late-in-life second marriage and sudden widowhood; its working title is ‘Adventures with the Bartender: Finding and Losing the Love of my Life in Six Short Years’.

TR: Why do you write non-fiction?

RD: Though I love reading fiction as entertainment, I find it much more engaging as a writer to explore the remarkable circumstances experienced by regular people. I love the research process of trying to dig into their motivations, actions, and emotions (and my own when working with memoir). I suspect some of this allure comes from having been trained as an actor and director and always being fascinated with how and why characters (both major and minor ones) do the things they do.


About Rebecca DanielsFinding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels


Rebecca Daniels (MFA, PhD) taught performance, writing, and speaking in liberal arts universities for over 25 years, including St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY, from 1992-2015. She was the founding producing director of Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland, OR, and directed with many professional Portland theatre companies in the 1980s.

She is the author of the groundbreaking Women Stage Directors Speak: Exploring the Effects of Gender on Their Work (McFarland, 1996, 2000) and has been published in multiple professional theatre journals. After her retirement from teaching, she began her association with Sunbury Press with Keeping the Lights on for Ike: Daily Life of a Utilities Engineer at AFHQ in Europe During WWII; or, What to Say in Letters Home When You’re Not Allowed to Write about the War (Sunbury Press, 2019), a book based on her father’s letters home from Europe during WWII.

She had always known she was adopted, but it was only as retirement approached, and with a friend’s encouragement, that she began the search for her genetic heritage through DNA testing. Finding Sisters explores how DNA testing, combined with traditional genealogical research, helped her find her genetic parents, two half-sisters, and other relatives in spite of being given up for a closed adoption at birth.

She is currently working on a new memoir about her late-in-life second marriage and sudden widowhood titled Adventures with the Bartender: Finding and Losing the Love of my Life in Six Short Years.

Website: https://rebecca-daniels.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebecca.daniels.9

Buy Finding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels


Amazon
Sunbury

Giveaway Finding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels


This giveaway is for 1 print copy and 1 pdf copy. Print is open to the U.S. only  and pdf is open worldwide. This giveaway ends on February 26, 2022 midnight, pacific time.  Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Follow Finding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels


Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Jan 3 Kickoff & Interview

Amy Locks, Hooks and Books Jan 4 Review

Lu Ann Rockin’ Book Reviews Jan 5 Guest Post

Gud Reader Goodreads Jan 7 Review

Jas International Book Promotion Jan 10 Review

Bev Amazon Jan 11 Review

Betty Toots Book Reviews Jan 12 Review & Guest Post

Dee G. Amazon & Goodreads Jan 13 Review

Laura Lee Celticlady’s Reviews Jan 14 Guest Review & Excerpt

Am Goodreads Jan 18 Review

Lu Ann Rockin’ Book Reviews Jan 19 Review

Annie M The Write Review Jan 20 Review & Interview

Gracie S. Goodreads Jan 25 Review

Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Jan 27 Review

Sal Bound 4 Escape Jan 28 Guest Review

Suzie M. My Tangled Skeins Book Reviews Feb 1 Review & Guest Post

Denise Amazon & Goodreads Feb 8 Review

Danielle Urban Book Reviews Feb 10 Review & Excerpt

Bookgirl Goodreads Feb 15 Review

Lynelle Inspire to Read Feb 21Review & Excerpt

Linda Lu Goodreads Feb 22 Review

Bee Book Pleasures Feb 24 Review &Interview

Sage N. Goodreads Feb 25 Review

Finding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels

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