Nadine Feldman, Author

celebrating strong female characters and whatever else strikes my fancy

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Back to Work

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It’s hard to believe that nine months have passed since my last blog post. I intended to take a short break, and it grew. I have kept in touch with some of you in the meantime on Facebook and blogs, but every now and then the still, small voice inside says, “When do we get to blog again?”

This morning, I knew: today is the day. I knew it as soon as I closed the last page of The Family: Three Journeys into the Heart of the Twentieth Century by David Laskin.

Laskin’s book came to me as part of a series of curious events, which I’ll write more about in a separate post. Let’s just say that adventure is afoot, and life has led me yet again down an extraordinary path. But today, I want to tell you about Laskin’s book, because it is incredible, and I want to sing its praises wherever I can.

Like me, Laskin’s quest to learn his family history started with bits and pieces of information that grew into a larger story. He knew, for example, that his great-aunt, Ida Rosenthal, founded the Maidenform Bra Company, an incredible achievement for an immigrant woman. As he went deeper, however, he learned of three separate family stories: the American immigrants, early Jewish settlers in pre-Israel Palestine, and, sadly, those relatives who stayed in Europe and endured Nazi atrocities.

Having seen the breathtaking beauty of Rosh Ha Nikra, where his relatives first entered Israel, I could almost picture their journey, though I could not imagine their hardships. Through Laskin’s book, I also gained greater understanding of the lives of Polish Jewry at the time my husband’s grandmother left for America…and a more personal sense of the Holocaust.

Prior to reading The Family, I had been reading a novel that just didn’t work for me, to the extent that I didn’t finish it. As a writer who wants to respect other writers, I usually muscle through and hope things will get better, but I finally had to give up. A few paragraphs into The Family, though, and my faith was restored. It is as exquisite, exciting, and gut-wrenching as any novel I have read, and I invite you to add it to your stack.

If anyone is still out there after my long absence, I would love to hear what you’re reading! As for me, I’ll try to not stay away so long.

Book Review Tuesday: Victorian Secrets: How a Woman Finds Herself Via Her Corset

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When Sarah Chrisman’s husband presented her with a corset as a birthday present, she didn’t think much of the gift at first. Still, as a lover of history with curiosity aimed mostly at the Victorian era, she gave it a try.  Four years later, she wears corsets nearly 24/7.

During the first year, she lost several inches around the waist, and furthered her transformation into a Victorian lady by sewing clothes that matched Victorian times. These days, those of us who live in Port Townsend see Sarah walking around town, with long skirts, parasol, gloves, and hats. Here, in a Victorian town with an annual Victorian festival, she blends right in!

As she continued to wear corsets, her migraines disappeared, and she has avoided back problems that plague others in her family. In person, Sarah radiates the peace and joy of someone who lives her truth. This isn’t a gimmick for her, but an authentic way of life. Isn’t that what we’re all seeking?

Sarah tells her story in Victorian Secrets: What a Corset Taught Me About the Past, the Present, and Myself. With intelligence and wit, she dispels myths about the corset and shares a fascinating and personal journey.

I own an original version of this book, which Sarah bound by hand in true Victorian fashion (it would take her about four hours to do so). The new hardback is also gorgeous to behold, complete with full-color photos that show Sarah’s transformation.

There was a time when I was younger when I stopped working on crafts such as knitting because we saw them as tools of oppression. Over time, I reclaimed my crafts and felt empowered as I did so, and I regretted those lost years when I let society’s opinions take me away from what brought me joy. Sarah has done the same with the corset, and I respect her for it. Though I doubt I’ll ever wear a corset on a regular basis (I do during our Victorian Festival), I appreciate her courage, her curiosity, and her willingness to be herself.

Book Review Tuesday: Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting by Ann Hood

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Don’t knit? Don’t write? It doesn’t matter. Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting is really a book about life. Yes, there are a few patterns in the book for anyone who wants them, but with passion and humor, a variety of writers share their stories of what knitting means to them.

What I love about this book is that these writers are, for the most part, not great knitters. Some have given up on the craft altogether. Others work hard to get to the “good beginner” level. Rather than conjuring images of contented grandmothers creating magic with some yarn and needles, these writer/knitters are often clumsy with a needle, reporting plenty of tears and dropped stitches. A rare exception is the writer who is a skilled knitter, but who discovers her perfectionism when teaching others, seeing how that perfectionism stifles joy.

Parents and grandparents, now gone, are remembered lovingly, along with tinges of regret for words left unsaid, thanks withheld. One writer/knitter makes endless sweaters for his dog, who is quite the fashionista. Another writer/knitter, a longtime lesbian, is surprised to fall in love with a man who knits. Each essay brings its own unique surprise.

My favorite essay is To Knit a Knot, or Not: A Beginner’s Yarn by John Dufresne. I love the way he knitted memories into the now, easing back and forth with the confidence of an experienced writer, much as an experienced knitter eases through a difficult project. Plus, he’s pretty darn funny.

Ann Hood came to knitting through grief when her young daughter died, and it’s no surprise that she would provide such a book, filled with everything from turbulence to joy. That’s been my experience with knitting; it has the power to show our lives to us, and to smooth the rough edges if we let it.

Random 5 Friday — Preparing for Change

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As I write this, we are wrapped in a blanket of fog. Outside, the garden is quiet, save for a few fall veggies that are coming up in between cover crop. Each day we see less and less sun; by the solstice, we will be dark by 4:00 p.m. The daily routine turns ever more inward — “reading season,” a farmer friend calls it. Perhaps it means I can get my blog back to a regular routine? I hope so.

Thanks to Nancy at A Rural Journal for offering Random 5 Fridays. Please check her out, as well as the many great bloggers whose work delights me in so many ways!

Here is my Random 5:

  1. I’m in Day 11 of the 14-day Colorado Cleanse, and I’ve had some profound experiences around my relationship with food and stress. I’ll write more about this soon, but wow! Today is the last day of the “main” cleanse, so tomorrow begins a three-day regimen that adds more food and resets digestive fire.
  2. We’re preparing for travel! We don’t like to leave from May-September. Between the needs of the garden and the many activities, home is the best place to be during that time. Still, we love to travel, and I’m getting itchy feet. Next up: New York City to visit my stepdaughter. We will also spend some time in Pennsylvania, in Amish country.
  3. I recently attended the Write on the Sound writers’ conference in Edmonds, WA, where I returned home exhausted but inspired. I’ve now started draft #3 of my next novel, ready and eager to do the hard work involved to shape it!
  4. I’m one of the last people in the universe to watch Breaking Bad. We’re watching online and are now late in season #2. What a strange show! And yet, we keep watching.
  5. I just finished reading an Advance Reader Copy of Karen Wyle’s Division. Karen writes character-driven sci-fi, and her strengths lie in the way she writes about family relationships. I don’t normally read sci-fi, but this tale of conjoined twins with different and conflicting ideas about how to navigate adulthood is a touching read. She’s releasing the book toward the end of this month.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Piles of Books: What I’m Reading Now

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I’m a promiscuous reader, unfaithful to any one author or genre, and unwilling to read just one book at a time. Soon I plan to return to reviewing books on this blog, but in the meantime, here’s what books I’m reading now:

  1. Miss Alcott’s E-Mail: Yours for Reforms of All Kinds by Kit Bakke – This book falls under the “why didn’t I think of that?” category. Bakke and I share a fascination with Alcott, a woman well ahead of her time. Through the magic of story, Bakke manages somehow to reach Alcott by e-mail (Alcott receives the messages as handwritten letters) and they share a correspondence. This is particularly interesting given Bakke’s former role in the Weather Underground. I’m having trouble putting this one down!
  2. Heat: An Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford – I think the title is a thorough description, wouldn’t you agree?
  3. The Forest for the Trees by Betsy Lerner – This is a book for writers about writing and writers. It’s a good pick-me-up for when inevitable discouragement arises.
  4. The Vegetable Gardener’s Guide to Permaculture: Creating an Edible Ecosystem by Christopher Shein with Julie Thompson – Though I’m brand-new to the concepts of permaculture, I’ve drunk the Kool-Aid, or perhaps spread the compost, because I believe that many of our world’s ills can be resolved with this approach to gardening, and to life.

Are you reading anything good these days? Do tell!

 

Small Town Life and the Random 5

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It’s time again for Random 5 Friday, thanks to Nancy over at A Rural Journal, with a special shout-out to Tina Fariss Barbour of Bringing Along OCD. Check them out!

Here’s my Random 5:

  1. Ever since I moved to a different webhosting service, I’ve had problems getting my blog out to my readers. It’s all been user error. Sometimes I wish this techie stuff were easier to deal with. I’m lucky to have in-house tech support since hubby is a software developer, but still…sometimes I feel like my day is spent with updates and troubleshooting instead of the tasks that really need to get done. Hopefully I have things fixed now, but I’m not so sure.
  2. I just joined the “Farmgirl Sisterhood,” and I’m thrilled about being a part of this wonderful concept. The more I immerse myself in this new life, with my gardens and my knitting and whatnot, the more I see the eyes of family and friends glazing over. My stepdaughter calls me a hippie, but I like Farmgirl a lot better…not that I have anything against hippies, but I think Farmgirl is a closer fit. Besides, they have merit badges. Maybe I can redeem myself for my failure as a Girl Scout (another story for another time).
  3. This week I finished reading Erica Bauermeister’s The Lost Art of Mixing, which is a sequel to her first novel, The School of Essential Ingredients. Both are full of heart and interesting characters and, well, food. Lots and lots of mouth-watering food. Now I’m reading The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love, by Kristin Kimball. It starts out with a scene describing a fresh, home-cooked meal, that takes you right into the smells and flavors. I’m sensing a pattern here.
  4. Speaking of food, I picked plums off the tree to have with my breakfast. Woo hoo! Happy dance!
  5. Last night I listened to a webinar by Ram Dass, the spiritual teacher known for his association with Timothy Leary at Harvard back in the 60s. Ram Dass is 83 now, with slow speech due to a stroke some years back. While I didn’t hear anything new from him, watching his commitment to teach and share at his age inspired me. He’s one of my “wise elders,” which I’ll share more about in a future blog post…though since I saw him in person in the 1980s, I was reminded that we are all getting older, like it or not.

How are you doing? Join us in the Random 5 by linking up with Nancy at A Rural Journal! Happy weekend!