Writing Motherhood Giveaway & Book Club

Today is book club day at NJ Moms Blog and its sister sites. We're talking about Lisa Garrigues' book Writing Motherhood, which has just come out in paperback. Lisa Garrigues has had a big impact on my life: through her book and the class she teaches in town, she inspired me to pick up the pen and start writing last September. I had always wanted to write, but I kept waiting for divine inspiration to strike. The topics I thought about never seemed interesting or important enough. Lisa showed me that my life is full of rich material and empowered me to begin writing about it. With the help of the writing invitations throughout her book, I am now on my fourth mother's notebook and my pen is still flowing every day. In addition to writing starts, Writing Motherhood is also a moving memoir of Lisa's journey through motherhood.

GIVEAWAY! I'm going to be giving away a signed copy of Lisa's book to celebrate this day. To enter, please write a comment to this post letting me know whether you are a writer or would like to be a writer someday. Do you have a story you've always wanted to tell? You can comment about that too. I'll pick the winner at random next week.

Definitely check out the posts at NJ Mom's Blog. All the participants have written about their worst mothering moment or the rules in their house. I chose my worst mothering moment: Missing the bus.

Here's a little excerpt:
"Last fall, on a beautiful September day full of lingering summer heat, Bella stepped onto the bus for her first day of kindergarten. She had been a shy and often tentative child for the first five years of her life, but she didn't hesitate as she skipped onto the bus. She had been looking forward to kindergarten all summer and she was thrilled to be riding the bus to school. She was ready.

When Bella returned that first day, she walked off the bus slowly but proudly. I could tell that she wanted to run into my arms, but was self-conscious about acting as cool as all the second and third graders around her. Her beaming grin, however, was not tempered by any inhibitions. She'd had a great day and was thrilled to find me at the agreed upon spot to tell me all about it. She'd stepped out into a new world, confident that the security of home would be awaiting her triumphant return.

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