Lean Out podcast interview with Tara Henley – a treat
Getting better; life returns. I went to Carole’s class today, was slow but there, really moving for the first time in over a week.
This is last Wednesday; on Thursday the bruises on lip and chin got even darker. And now, a week later, completely gone. Bodies are amazing! My knee is still throbbing with a big red scab, but the scabs on my hand are falling off. I had x-rays yesterday on ribs and knee. I’m sure all is well but it’s good to check; my ribs still hurt. Was lucky enough at the x-ray clinic, at 8.20 a.m., to sit next to friend and former writing student Merrijoy, who’s a vibrant 96, indefatigable, off to Stratford today. We all need such inspiration in our lives.
Had a huge treat yesterday. Last week, Tara Henley got in touch, to say she’d discovered Loose Woman at a second-hand bookstore on the Danforth. It spoke to her, she bought it, read it, loved it. She has a successful podcast called Lean Out and wanted to interview me about the book.
She’s a delightful, very smart and thoughtful woman who asked the best questions. What supreme joy for a writer to meet someone who’s read one’s book closely, been moved by it, and is eager to know more. She quoted passages; she asked for a deep dive back to that time. “I love your writing!” she said several times, and has just bought Midlife Solo.
I was dizzy with pleasure. Loose Woman was first published in 2014, and though it was a finalist for a nonfiction book award, it has dropped off the radar. But I hope you won’t mind if I say that I re-read it to prepare for the interview, and I thought it was good. Really good in some sections. Vain, I know, but I tried to read it as if written by someone else. It’s a good story. I like her writing.
I know, shut up, you boastful woman. Here’s the podcast. Thank you, Tara!
https://tarahenley.substack.com/p/beth-kaplan-on-getting-stuck-and
Posted a Substack yesterday too, a query from a student and a reply from me about the writing process. Twenty minutes after it went out, I received an email from a former student and recipient saying, Thank you for these letters. This encouragement and truth keeps me going, so now, off to my pen and paper with gratitude.
https://touchpointsawriterstruth.substack.com/p/encouraging-words-to-write-by-help
So it was a good day. My son came over to help me do things only a tall person can do. The day before, I spent time with the grandboys while their mother worked; at one point they sprayed each other and Bandit with the hose as they jumped on the trampoline. Who would have thought of that? These troublemakers, that’s who.
My three grandsons.
Today, after the Y and my obligatory nap, I rode to the Deanne Taylor Theatre to see a Fringe show, Something to Look Forward To, a one-woman show by and with Joanna O’Sullivan, who’s bright and entertaining even as she talks about a triple whammy of grief. A good show, well worth the trip. As a bonus, I happened once again to sit next to a dear friend, this time Barbara Gordon, a wonderful actress.
Oh good, it’s raining, and I’m safely inside. My tree guy cut a lot of branches from the willow, and now there’s a lot more sun in the garden, which is a shock for the greenery that’s been sheltered until now.
As I said just after landing on my face last week, into each life a little rain must fall. But I’m happier when it’s actual, not metaphoric, rain. More, please.
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