Inspiration: Sandra Cisneros

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Sometimes the pieces of life come together in a way that all you can do is say is thank you, thank you.

Tomorrow I start teaching "Writing the Healing Story" at UCLA Extension and today running errands I was listening to NPR  (KPCC) when Sandra Cisneros was interviewed by A Martinez about her new book, "Have You Seen Marie?"  She talked about what lead up to the book – that she had just lost her mother and wouldn't leave her house because she was grieving so hard – but then a friend visited from out of town with her cat, and when the friend's cat escaped she had to leave the house and go looking for it. Cisneros said that while searching for the cat with her friend she realized that she was living the story she had to write. And that she had to pay attention. ("Paying Attention" is the theme of my first class tomorrow.) She talked about transformation (the theme of my second class) – how loss can can be broken opened, transformed, how what is lost can become a presence rather than an absence.

What a gift this interview is for my class, and for you. Here's the link to the trailer for her book, and the interview: Have You Seen Marie? 

Thank you Sandra Cisneros and thank you A Martinez and KPCC.

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