Rica Keenum's Blog, page 4
October 27, 2020
Story Sparks: Coming Soon…
Hey friends! My second memoir is complete and the querying has begun! To keep my hands busy, I’ve been working on short stories. Fiction has not been my genre, but I’m looking for a new creative challenge, and I can’t wait to bring you this exciting new series… Story Sparks: The Story Behind the Spark …
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September 21, 2020
The Night I Got Naked for Us (A Sneak Peek at My Second Memoir)…
I’ve been hard at work on my second memoir, a book with all new themes. It has been, like all writing is for me, an incredibly insightful journey that has helped me face some of the most difficult, lingering emotions I’ve carried throughout the years. Also, it has been great fun to relive my wedding …
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May 5, 2020
Paperback or Audiobook: Solving the Great Debate
Audiobooks have become a small pleasure for me. Although I have always been a book-in-my-hands kind of reader, I do enjoy listening to stories on my morning commute. After all, it’s really not safe to prop a book against my steering wheel while doing 60 on the highway (not really!). So out of necessity, my …
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April 29, 2020
I Wanted a Girl, But What I Got Was This…
Sometimes life is mundane and one day looks just like the next. Then a piece of news crashes in like a meteorite and everything changes. This essay is proof. I wrote it in a state of emotional chaos, and when I completed the work, I felt a sense of relief. As Sexual Assault Awareness Month …
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April 20, 2020
Parenting Through Pain: How Trauma Can Shape a Mother
I write about motherhood often. Studies show direct links to the way we were treated as children and how we behave as adults. It’s clear, our mothers shape our identities.But what happens when our mothers are less than maternal, when they expose us to harm, fail to protect us, leave us with gaping wounds? I …
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March 22, 2020
Social Distancing Does Not Mean Separation: Let’s Come Together
The grocery store has been ransacked. Apparently toilet paper solves more problems than we thought. As the coronavirus pandemic ensues, the consensus is clear: TP equals power. I have 6 rolls left for my family of three, and I’m not sure where the next pack will come from. On television, the news ticker displays the …
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February 23, 2020
In The Telling of Our Stories, We Can Save Ourselves
I don’t start out writing about her, my mother. But these stories write themselves. Some would say rehashing the past isn’t healthy. Life is forward-moving, so shouldn’t I keep up the pace? But I have a deeper longing, and it draws me to the page. I give voice to the past because it mattered. And …
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January 12, 2020
Helicopter Dog Mom: How Did I Get So Dog-Crazy?
My name is Rica, and I am a helicopter dog mom. It has taken a great deal of introspection and self-examination for me to admit such a thing. Were you to scroll through my phone, you would find 867 photos of one incredibly spoiled pit bull. Wide-eyed in the kitchen, a biscuit dangling in sight. …
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January 1, 2020
New Year’s Resolutions: Goal Setting / Forgetting the Double-Edged Sword
Looking back, I must admit I have not always been receptive to the concept of New Year’s resolutions. You might even say I’ve been hostile. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about growth and goal-setting. Join a gym, make some smoothies, learn a new language or earn a black belt in tae kwon do — …
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December 12, 2019
Petals of Rain: A Mother’s Memoir is Here!
Petals of Rain: A Mother’s Memoir is here! What it Means to Write a Memoir Writing my first memoir has been exhilarating, difficult and ultimately rewarding. But it’s also not easy putting your art into the world, and it’s harder still to pour yourself onto the pages and release them. Many first-time authors wrestle with …
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