This is a new memoir by novelist Maggie O'Farrell who lived through some horrifying experiences--seventeen brushes with death. Some are more chilling than others, like the time she met and almost succumbed to a serial killer.
Other times were less dramatic like the time that she jumped off a harbor wall into the sea from a cliff.
Being Irish, she was cognizant of the cliffs and raging seas, yet her desire to experience wildness got the better of her. Worst still, a bout with encephalitis during childhood left her with limited spatial awareness. When she dropped herself into the sea at night, she was unable to tell which way was up and which was down.
When O'Farrell is close to death, the miraculous often happens. The only one who tries to save her when she is drowning is a boy who is secretly in love with her.
O'Farrell writes about being aware that she is about to die (at age 8) from encephalitis, her near drowning in Africa, and a tropical disease she acquired while visiting China, as well as many other instances she came close to dying.
Instead of feeling unlucky, O'Farrell feels incredibly lucky that she has traveled and has escaped many horrifying situations.
In the last few chapters, she writes poignantly of her own child and her recovery from a severe allergic reaction.
A cleverly written book, this memoir also gives readers a deeper understanding and appreciation for life.
The podcast, Dewey Decimal has a fantastic episode (episode #31) about the haunted library in Peoria, IL.
Listen to the podcast and decide for yourself--supernatural events or urban legend?
Multiple library directors have met untimely ends. Some say the land that library is built upon is cursed land.
Some staff members claim to have heard unusual experiences while working at the library--falling books, temperature changes, lights coming on and off on their own. One maintenance worker saw an entity enter an elevator.
The current director considers the ghost stories "local lore."
The podcast also features Mary Roach, who wrote Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, and John B. Kachuba, Ghosthunting Illinois.
https://soundcloud.com/dewey-decibel-703453552
Katya is an Authenticities and Antiquities dealer in the far future where the details of life are recorded on Captures. She collects items before this time for their nostalgic value, ordinary things like typewriters and dictionaries.
She relies on her A.I. like many would really one a friend. That is why she find herself so unaccountably alone when her A.I. goes off-line.
Most of the novelette is Katya's experience of being kidnapped for three days by a strange masked man. He shows no empathy toward her during the three days she is "off line," but mysteriously he allows her to live to tell her tale.
This is one of the stories that leaves readers hunger for more, yet Kowal keeps some things shrouded in mystery.
This is a captivating SF/fantasy tale about how we construct memories and how we survive is both puzzling and thought-provoking.
The most widely produced playwright in the United States is Lauren Gunderson. She has written I and You, The Silent Sky, The Revolutionists. We are Denmark and many other plays.
She writes about smart, funny women trying to make their mark in the world. The Silent Sky is about Henrietta Swan Leavitt, one of the first female astronomers.
If you're looking for a STEM inspired drama, try Lauren Gunderson.
American Theatre keeps tabs on the most produced playwrights of the year. For more playwrights on their list,
https://www.americantheatre.org/2017/09/21/the-top-20-most-produced-playwrights-of-the-2017-18-season/
From Leif Enger's Virgil Wander:
"Now I think the picture was unspooling all along and I just failed to notice. The obvious really isn't so--at least it wasn't to me, a Midwestern male cruising a medium altitude, aspiring vaguely to decency, contributing to PBS, moderated in all things including romantic forays, and doing unto others more or less reciprocally.
If I were to pinpoint when the world began reorganizing itself--that is, when my seeing of it began to shift--it would be the day a stranger named Rune blew into our bad luck town of Greenstone, Minnesota, like a spark from the boreal gloom."
Perfect for Halloween, The City of Ghosts
is the story of Cass who nearly drowned. Ever since, she has the
ability to pull back the Veil between the living and the dead. Things
are already spooky but they are about to get a lot spookier in this
middle grade novel.
This is a new memoir by novelist Maggie O'Farrell who lived through some horrifying experiences--seventeen brushes with death. Some are more chilling than others, like the time she met and almost succumbed to a serial killer.
