Words To Mouth

Trish Ryan is such a good sport. Here’s a portion of her answer to my second question. Go check out the rest at her blog site:

So one of the many things that never made it into my pages is the fact that my BIG dream in life back then was…. To own and run a private, maximum security prison. Yep. Seriously. This was my plan. I was fascinated by the utter failure of our national correctional system (really, there aren’t many places where we get less bang for our buck as taxpayers), and I was certain that a kinder, gentler approach to rehabilitation was the key. And clearly I was the perfect candidate to turn this ship around: my political science major meant I had stored up four years of strong opinions. Pair that with my minors in philosophy and dance, and who wouldn’t think “Prison Management” when looking at my resume?

Thanks, Trish.

Hey, Words To Mouth friends ~ let me know what you’re thinking…comment below or call (206) 309–7318

Take good care!

BAREFOOT ~ A beach house, two sisters, and a girlfriend…Sounds heavenly–relaxing, even with a couple kids in tow…

Now, I can handle a bit of vomit and lost luggage, but Hilderbrand mercilessly tugs at all of my feminine heartstrings; marriage, motherhood, sisterhood, and friendship…oh, and that pesky fear-of-death thing.

Meet the Girls: 

• Melanie deals with infertility overshadowed by infidelity, and then further complicated with pregnancy — “POW!”
• Brenda’s promising academic career hangs in jeopardy due to an entirely separate affair—this one seemingly harmless, except for the minor detail that it was with one of her students — “ZING!” 
• And then there’s Vicki  with two small children to raise and hit with a cancer diagnosis — “BAM!”

Pan to the dark clouds parting, casting light down upon the crown of an attractive college student, Josh, who ends up being so much more to these conflicted women than a “Guy Friday” (Hence, Self magazine’s “Beaches meets The Graduate” review).

And this is all just in the first chapter…

Phew! And here I thought I was in for a relaxing day on Nantucket’s shores. I need a vacation, just trying to keep up with these gals. 

All facetiousness aside…Barefoot was my first of Hilderbrand’s books, but not my last. It’s a quick read with a poignant underlying theme and resolution. Her descriptions made me anxious for that coveted time at my family’s North Carolina beach house. Thank God, I don’t have to deal with all the Barefoot turmoil.

I love what Hilderbrand shares in the “Conversation” at the end of the book. She says, “I had claimed that, after A Summer Affair (her next novel due out July 1^st). was complete, I would take a ‘year off.’ My ‘year off’ lasted for about two weeks. Writing is like a genetic disease…and I can’t seem to find a cure!” 

Now, THAT’s good news for us!!

 www.HachetteBookGroupUSA.com

**As stated in my audio interview with Robert Hicks (A Guitar and a Pen), the first person to call and leave a voice mail message at 206–309–7318 wins the one-and-only FREE copy of Barefoot!

You can always comment below or email me at Carrie@WordsToMouth.com

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When I first read the book jacket on He Loves Me, He Loves Me NOT (HLMHLMN), I thought I was in for some light-hearted chick lit or a God on a Harley type ride. Trish Ryan’s desperate hubby hunt turned faith quest ended up far more meaningful than finding Prince Charming.

Spirituality/Religion can be a heavy topic and can put many a reader on the defense, but Trish reveals her journey with such candor and humor, I, for one, walked away appreciating her process. 

In her twenties, Trish threw around the common disclaimer that she was “spiritual, but not religious.” She embraced everything from A Course in Miracles, astrology, tarot cards, feng shui, crystals, chakras, Native American spirituality–you name it, she tried it. If she hadn’t already made her choice, you better bet, Trish would be first in line to buy Oprah’s Book Club pick, Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth Awakening To Your Life’s Purpose.  With painful self-dissection and heartache, all that changed…

Even if you’re not exploring enlightenment, you can glean clarity from Trish’s memoir. I appreciate her willingness to allow us a glimpse into her spiritual and psychological trenches–she admits her insecurities and speaks openly about the dreaded “D-word,” depression. Don’t be detered–HLMHLMN is by no means a downer. Think Sex in The City meets Women of Faith  ~ Trish’s relentless self-effacing humor inspires quick page turning.

I doubt we’ll find many people, especially women, who won’t find themselves relating to Trish, at least on some level. She reminds me of our tendency to project our ideals onto our latest man crush–the biggest trap we can set for ourselves. Instead of seeing others–specifically, prospective mates–for what they truly are, we throw our notions of perfection at them in hopes they’ll stick, so we’ll finally find our elusive soul mate glazed in shiny flawlessness. Then, “Life Happens,” and inevitably things heat up and that glaze begins to melt, slowly dripping off to reveal the faulty individual underneath…and we’re left with our disappointment wondering “What happened? Why did THEY change? I appreciate Trish’s comitment to digging deep in HLMHLMN to determine that the hole she thought she could fill with a man truly could not be satiated by someone of this world.

I must admit, I was left wanting her to explore just a bit more:

1. WHY she had such a deep sense of insecurity in the first place ~ From her account, she comes from a strong Catholic in-tact loving family–anything BUT dysfunctional compared to today’s standards–so where does this deep internal abyss originate? Without God, does that unfillable hole reside in us all? 
2. Like Trish, in my twenties, I fell into the trap of thinking my boyfriend could complete me . On page 26 of HLMHLMN she admits: “Dating Josh marked an evolution for me: it was my first experience with lying about who I was and what I wanted, of guessing what a guy wanted and then pretending to be eactly that.” That was me. I didn’t know myself or what I wanted and I thought finding a guy would fill that void–in was unconscious, unintentional. After reading HLMHLMN, I found myself wanting Trish to explore her own individual passions and purpose apart from her quest for landing a man. Hmmm, maybe visiting her website will provide those answers. You can also visit Trish’s Forty Days of Faith website.

Just a sidenote:  As a young twenty-something “yankee,” living very much like Trish–very defensive to condescending “Christianese.” I had a number of Born Agains hit me with well-intended phrases like ”Don’t you want to be washed in the blood of the lamb?” and “My heart is burdened for your salvation” ~ Huh? That, quite frankly, felt far from loving–only sanctimonious–and turned me OFF from Christianity. It’s no wonder Christianity gets a bad rap these days. Conversely, I think Trish does a superb job of articulating the Christian tenets in a nonthreatening conversational tone–very much like a discussion you may have with a nonjudgmental loving girlfriend. Admittedly, I’ve lived in the southern Bible Belt for nearly fifteen years now and embrace the Christian perspective, so maybe I’m immune at this point, but I’d be interested to hear how you receive Trish’s message.

What are your impressions? Let’s start a conversation…

Bottom line: HLMHLMN obviously evokes much introspection. I recommend it and would love to hear your thoughts on the book and the points I’ve raised in this post.

Call (206) 309-7318 or leave a comment below to share! I have one copy of HLMHLMN that I’ll throw in the giveaway hat…Let me know if you want to be entered to win or click the link below and buy NOW.

M.I.L.D.E.W. (Mother-in-Laws Do Everything Wrong), now in its second printing, is a hysterical marriage companion book every woman should have in her back pocket–either to make herself laugh when those inevitable mother-in-law issues arise or to have at-the-ready for a girlfriend who may need a dose of M.I.L.D.E.W. perspective.

Co-Authors, Liz Buper and Renee Plastique (okay, their names have been changed to protect their identity bring humor to an otherwise extremely frustrating dynamic. The acronym, M.I.L.D.E.W., is infiltrating today’s vernacular and every woman can relate–we all have a personal or “friend” story to  contribute when the mother-in-law topic is broached. I have to admit, I truly had the sweetest mother-in-law on the planet. She passed away over 10 years ago and I miss her, but even so…there were times!

This is a quick read that will have you laughing out loud–complete with a quiz and unbelievable real-life M.I.L.D.E.W. examples. I have two AUTOGRAPHED copies of M.I.L.D.E.W. to give away, so ENTER TO WIN or click on the book below and buy now! Comment below or call 206-309-7318 with your MILDEW story!

Carrie:  What inspired you to write this book?

Liz & Renee:  MILDEW was created when we found ourselves on the phone frequently discussing challenging situations involving our mothers-in-law. Realizing that our husbands would not fully appreciate these discussions, we decided we needed a code word—thus, MILDEW was born.  Soon the word “MILDEW” replaced “mother-in-law” in our conversations.  The more we told our friends about MILDEW, the more we heard funny and outrageous stories. We found that sharing stories lent much needed support and humor not only to our own situations, but to others’ as well. It was at this point that we were inspired to write a book.  Though our personal lives inspired MILDEW, it was the incredible response we got from so many women—of all ages and backgrounds, from all over the world—that really drove us to write M.I.L.D.E.W.  We felt a duty to share our stories, strategies, support, and humor with our fellow MILDEW-sufferers!

Carrie:  How long did it take to write your book?

Liz & Renee:  We actually started writing 10 years before our book was published—well before the Internet and e-mail.  In the early years we used to send the manuscript to each other via modem!  Most of the time, though, that didn’t work so we’d send floppy disks through the mail.  Then the “baby years” began—the years when we were each having children.  So MILDEW was an on-again-off-again project for a while, which ended up being a good thing.  The Internet really made this book possible because we were able to reach fellow MILDEW-sufferers from all over the world!  We received stories from women (and some men) all over the U.S. as well as Canada, Mexico, India, United Kingdom and Australia!

Carrie: Any interesting, strange, quirky story about writing the book?

Liz & Renee:  Getting permission to use the quotes scattered throughout the book was an adventure all its own. We spoke to the children of several famous personalities, such as Henny Youngman and Margaret Mead. And at the other end of the spectrum, we spoke with several Alaskan fishermen regarding the mother-in-law fish as well as a 1960’s game show aficionado.

Carrie:  Have you observed a concentration of MILDEW in certain parts of the country, or does it exist across the board?

Liz & Renee:  MILDEW goes back centuries, having been documented as far back as ancient Rome, so it’s truly a universal experience. When we were collecting stories for our book, we posted notices on Internet discussion forums worldwide and received a huge response. MILDEW knows no bounds, transcending age, culture, economic status and geography. Thanks to our book, though, our fellow MILDEW-sufferers now know they are not alone.
 
Carrie:  What is the primary message you’d like your readers to take away from this book?