“This packrat has learned that what the next generation will value most is not what we owned but the evidence of who we were and the tales of how we loved. In the end, it’s the family stories that are worth the storage.”
–Ellen Goodman
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"Laura's writing prompts are juicy and creative and through them, I am remembering my own life story."
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"Laura has helped me breathe life into words that had waited so long to hear their voices spoken aloud. Her prompts were the nourishment I needed to begin my long journey as a writer. I am so grateful to Laura for the gift she is."
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"Writing with Laura is a dream come true...she's funny, smart, insightful, and willing to risk putting her own life experience down on the page. Writing practice has proven to be a form of meditation in action for me: it has revealed dark corners of my mind that were begging for illumination, and healed broken pieces of my heart. I have cried, laughed, marveled at the insights a simple thing like writing practice has given me. I have used it in the groups I run with first-time older mothers, and even the women who say they have no skill writing are led into deep and wonderful places inside themselves. This is an experience not to be missed."
--Nancy London MSW, author, "Hot Flashes, Warm Bottles: First-Time Mothers Over Forty" -
"Laura Davis's Writer's Journey is about possibilities. Not about being published or receiving accolades, but the possibility of discovery: discovery of my creativity, my joys and sorrows, the discovery of me. Laura supports that journey through a wide range of prompts that are ever changing, always interesting, and many times seems tailored to my personal experience. With each of her prompts, I frequently find myself saying, "How did she know?"
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"With Laura's guidance, I have been able to discover and develop the writer inside of me who had been waiting in darkness my whole life for the support and safety to emerge."
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"Laura's writing retreat was a rare and beautiful gift. It was a real treat to be with an eclectic, quiet, exuberant, creative group of people gathered to write our hearts out. Laura created a safe, accepting space for us to let go and pour ourselves onto the page. There were no red letter Fs for us-just lots of great food, a beautiful setting and a wealth of wild writing."
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"Laura is a gifted writing teacher. Her prompts have changed my relationship to writing, making my words more natural and spontaneous. I have begun to remember events from my past more completely and vividly than before. That has been a great gift for me."
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--Marcia Heinegg, author of California to New Zealand THE LONG WAY -
"I signed up for the retreat, unsure what to expect. I went with trepidation: 'Would I be good enough?' 'Would it get too personal?' 'Was it worth the money?' I came home extremely glad I had gone. It wasn't about being good enough; it was about being encouraged to find my voice. I rediscovered how much I love to write and was relieved to meet other people like me, who need to write as much as they need to breathe."
--Stephanie Huff, Director of Marketing for firstRain, a software company -
"I would encourage anyone who has even a passing interest in developing themselves as a writer, or who feels "stuck" personally and is looking for some tools to push them to a new level to develop a writing practice using Laura’s prompts. I guarantee you will be changed by this experience!
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"Laura Davis is an exceptionally warm, motivating teacher. I never considered myself a writer until I took her workshop. Her caring attitude, personal concern for my well-being and progress, as well as her years of experience, inspired me to become a writer. I am writing almost every day now and will publish my first piece in October."
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"I am so grateful to have you as my writing teacher. Without your keen instruction and astute instincts, writing would still be a vague yearning inside of me. Perhaps the most effective technique in your teaching bag of tricks is not a tool at all, but your steadfast willingness to fearlessly, beautifully put yourself on paper. The perfect original lesson of demonstration still tops them all."
--Nancy Miner -
"When I first met Laura Davis, I was still a fledgling writer. I knew how to tell a story, but I had a difficult time connecting with my work emotionally. After a week of writing practice with Laura and Natalie Goldberg, my work deepened far beyond anything I ever expected. Since that time, I've continued to work with Laura. Her teaching style is open and inspirational. She's been instrumental in helping me bring my characters to life. I highly recommend her to anyone looking to improve their writing and deepen their emotional connection with their work."
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"We all come to Laura because we want to write, or write more, or write better. Through writing practice, we do each of these things and slowly but surely, we evolve into writers. Laura has the insight, the patience, and the steadiness that guides even the most unsure among us out into the open and onto the page."
--Zoe Elizabeth -
"What is most compelling to me about Laura's work is the wonderful balance she conveys, both in person and in her writing, between being both a teacher and an ongoing, active learner. She is completely credible as she shares both her own and others' stories for the benefit of mutual learning. This is a relief from the more "expert" point of view, which has a way of making me feel small and disengaged."
--Kerry Messer, workshop participant, Oakland, California -
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- Angels with One Wing
- Tell Me the Story of Your Name
- Personal Ad
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- Someone Who Believed in Me
- Going Too Far
- To Speak or Not to Speak
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A Blessing in Disguise
I was still a young woman when my daughter sprang on me that she was pregnant by a neighborhood boy. She begged and pleaded she wanted to keep the baby. She was only sixteen had no job, no place to live and on a road set to bring her down. The friends she hung with were all smoking fifty-ones and serving her up on the down low. I figured if I got her away from them her life would play out differently. I was fed up with chasing her around like a security dog to trying to save her from herself. She was spiraling out of control on a road to self-destruction. I call it a blessing in disguise.
I had to decided helping her raise a baby or dealing with a crack head. I chose to help her raise a baby. I offered to let her stay with me. I am not domestic so I let the baby’s daddy move in with us to care for his children.
When we moved into the new place there were no lights or gas. We soon found out that if there were no lights they won’t turn on the gas. There had been a spring storm that severed the power to the neighborhood. We were left in the dark for nearly two weeks.
Life was cruising along I got a job and took care of my family. I worked hard to make sure they had the things they needed and half of the things they wanted no holes barred. When her man decided he was the man of the house and was going to take control start running things I brought our arrangement to an abrupt end.
I was tired of supporting a grown ass man something I promised myself I would never do for me, but I saw me doing it for her by proxy. In the mean time I met a man I thought I liked. He was smoking something I knew nothing about until he took my car and stayed gone for a couple of days. He left me to beg a coworker for a ride to work. I was furious and planned to stick it to him. R didn’t give me a chance to handle my own business instead he took it upon himself to run my house. I came home one day to find that he had beaten the hell out of my man and put him out. I took offence to his tactics.
I am a grown ass woman and able to take care of my own business
Before things got out of hand I helped my daughter establish a household of her own. I paid her first months rent and deposit gave her all my furniture and moved my youngest son and me into an apartment of our own… an amicable separation so I thought.
A Letter to My Daughter
Dear Daughter;
I love you with all my heart and wish you nothing but love, life, health and happiness. I know that we have been estranged for some time now, but you know how we are. We just can’t live together. I remember when we shared good times, partied all night and came back together the next day to reminisce. I want those times back. Once you have your own place we will concede in the wake if all this resentment.
I always want to be a part of your life, better from afar than not at all. I wish only to share in a relationship filled with love and respect.
If I don’t get a chance to tell you this before I die I just want you to know that you have always been the cement that held me together. Without you this past year our relationship has faltered.
I need you in my life so please do both of us a favor and find you a place of your own. I need you back in my life.
Love always
Mom
A Day at the Beach
By Ginger Laroy Fernandez Category: Family
Life necessitates change and the beach is always a good place to start.
Yesterday my family and I went to Belle Isle. The sizzling heat of the mid day called for a cool dip in the river. I thought roasting up some hot dogs and burgers would add a little fun to the day. The experience turned out to be one that I will never forget. As we arrived at the beach parking lot about three in the afternoon… after work. Just as we began taking our supplies from the car the winds picked up. They started about 30 miles and hour and picked up to at least 60 miles an hour by the time we had unloaded the car.
We tried to lie out blankets… they got caught in the wind and drug the younger children about like they were being pulled about on a sled pulled. We tried everything we could to anchor them the cooler, bags, and boxes even a table with out much luck. The winds tossed everything about making fun impossible. The children didn’t miss a stroke they did their thing they splashed about in the water having a grand time. It looked like fun bobbing about dunking each other laughing and playing.
In the mean time their mother and I tried to start fire and get things up and going, but we were too busy chasing our personal belongings along the beach. After about an hour of that fun the winds subsided and we started the fire. We put the top on the grill to let the fire burn a bit while we sat back and enjoyed a tall cool can of Bud Ice.
Mean while back at the grill… I placed several packages of hot dogs on the grill seasoned up and pressed our some hamburger patties. Just as I was about to put the burgers on the grill the winds picked up sprinkling on the first grill. Since I do not like the taste of sand I quickly washed off the dogs and put them back on the grill. This time I laid some foil on top of them and replaced the top. They were safe from the sand.
This is when things really got funny. I’m sitting there chillin talking to my daughter enjoying the mood when I look up and see one of their kids at the family gathering next to us leave the top off the grill and run off toward the water. All of the sudden a school of sea gulls dive-bomb their grill. They are snatching hot dogs off the grill fighting each other for the privilege and scaring the hell out of the kids.
In frenzy the adults scamper about screaming fanning things at the birds trying to chase them away… it aren’t happening. They are to busy fighting among themselves for the spoils of their quest to give a damn about the humans. We took pictures of them in action. It was funny as hell. I have been thinking about posting them on my space. I have some hilarious shots. In fact they went on to make my day. We cooked the food ate chilled out in the water and had a good day after all. The worst thing about the day was that it had to end. They close the park at ten o’clock. That is messed up… I do not start parting until after dark sometime. I love the beach at night…. What about U?
The perfect mud mask
Lost lake softball
Savage kindness
My sister the flying goose egg
Twins?
The flying turkey
Lasagna the dog refused
Little starts new home
They say he worked the Boiler room
Fishing Fort Cobb
Hot dog holiday
Berry picking fall
Hideout in the orchard
Freezer in the desert