
After several months of being longlisted, shortlisted, and making the finals, Holding Fast took first place in the Hearten Awards for Uplifting and Inspiring Non-Fiction! I'm thrilled that three years after publication, readers are still excited about the story of my sailing adventures with my late husband, John. Holding Fast shares first place with several other memoirs, and I'm thrilled for them, too!
I've been working away on my new book about my life growing up in Cleveland, which changed drastically after my dad died when I was ten. What had been a relatively normal and calm household changed into a chaotic, drama-filled mess, headed by my mentally unstable mother and much-older, violent brother. When I fled at eighteen, I vowed never to return.
Yet, two years ago, I went back. While there, I researched Dad's childhood in an orphanage, and the early years of my parents' marriage when they honeymooned in Bermuda, and hosted intellectual events at our house. I visited the house in which I was born, and the one where I grew up. I met cousins whom I hadn't known existed who shared juicy tidbits about my dad's and mother's families. I found Dad's grave, and spent time with him there. I discovered both of my grandmothers' graves. All touched me deeply.
Cleveland surprised me. I'd forgotten the fresh Lake Erie breezes that probably led me to my late sailor husband who wanted to sail around the world. Despite working in New York for many years, I'm still a polite Midwesterner and like a slow pace. Having railed against the horrors of Cleveland for many years now, I've become open to the notion that my childhood trauma might not have been caused by Cleveland.
If you'd like to learn about how my late husband and I took our seven-year-old daughter, left everything behind and sailed away, go here to find Holding Fast: A Memoir of Sailing, Love, and Loss.