It’s happening!

I can finally announce that No Way Out of This, my memoir about the Alzheimer’s journey with my late husband Fred, will be published in June 2024 by She Writes Press. It recounts the gnarly parts of Alzheimer’s, including caregiving, nursing homes and the day-by-day losses, but the reader will also enjoy a good dose of music and the canine antics of Annie and her brother Chico. In the end, it’s a love story.

This book has been in the works for years, starting as journal writings when Fred was sick and undergoing many revisions to reach its current state. Am I comfortable exposing this much of our private lives in print? No, but the story begs to be told, especially when everyone I meet has either lost someone to dementia or loves someone who is going through it now.

In the coming months, I will be working with the publicist to draw attention to the book. I will also be reading proofs and seeking “blurbs,” those mini reviews that go on the back cover. Writing is the easy part.

Give a Listen

I enjoyed being a guest on the June 2 edition of The Free Bin, the Toledo, Oregon library’s podcast. You can hear the interview here. 

This Wednesday, June 21 at noon PDT, the “Nomo Crones,” aka Childless Elderwomen, will meet again online for a panel discussion. Our topic this time:  “Radical Old Women.” Attendance is free. Click https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_YWd0_sZNQY-6rF_fCayMXQ#/registration to register.

On Monday, June 26, I will be one of the featured poets reading at the Salem Poetry Project’s new Poetry on the Lawn series, 7 p.m. at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 1770 Baxter Rd. SE, Salem, OR. Road trip!

In the Blogs

https://www.unleashedinoregon.com–“Looking Back for a Novel Set in 2020,” “Old Sheet Music Brings Back Memories”

https://www.childlessbymarriage.com– “When Couples Put Off Having Babies Until It’s Too Late,” “When People Having Babies on TV Make You Cry,” and “Is the ‘Happiest Place on Earth’ Only for People with Children?”

Read and Enjoyed

I spent last month reading books about the COVID-19 pandemic as research for a writing project. I was surprised at how much I had forgotten and how much I never knew. These are my favorites.

Cabin Fever: the Harrowing Journey of a Cruise Ship at the Dawn of a Pandemic by Michael Smith and Jonathan Franklin.

The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER by Thomas Fisher

And Then We Came Outside and Saw the Stars, an anthology of international writings from March-May 2020, edited by Ilan Stavans.

Watched and Enjoyed
Space Oddity, Amazon Prime, YouTube, AppleTV—I tuned in to this movie because I’m crushing on Kevin Bacon lately, but this story of a young man who is determined to go to Mars is a feel-good flick. Bacon plays his dad.

The Umbrella Academy, Netflix–I don’t usually enjoy science fiction or “action” shows, but this series is so good I can’t stop watching. It’s just weird and wild enough. A crazy rich man adopts seven children, each with a different special power. As adults, they travel through time trying to prevent the end of the world. 

Moonlighting, YouTube—Let’s go back to the ‘80s, when Cybil Shepherd and Bruce Willis were young and beautiful and nobody was getting texts on their cell phones, because they didn’t exist. It’s funny, romantic, and full of surprises. A song-and-dance number? Why not? The client turns out to be the killer? You never know.

That’s the news. Annie says hi. She is now 15 years and 4 months old. Moving slowly, but you would too if you were 105+ in dog years. 

Happy June!

Sue and Annie Lick