Guest Bloggers

Guest Blogger Susan Hagen: Birthdays, cupcakes, and healing through writing

Note from Marlene: Guest Blogger Susan Hagen encourages us to have fun. And shows us how we can heal through writing . . . one of my strong beliefs, also. I hope you enjoy Susan’s post: To celebrate our 62nd birthdays, my best friend and I recently spent the weekend in Disneyland. Despite creaky knees and stiff backs, we were ready to party like … well, like eight-year-olds. We had great fun on the (not-too-wild) rides and enjoyed being playful and somewhat silly. But in that space of awareness about our childhoods, what arose in both of us were memories of disappointing birthdays of the past. It’s never too late to have that birthday cupcake. For me, it was 1963, the year I turned eight. My mother was supposed to bring chocolate cupcakes to my third-grade class at the end of the school day. But a few days before my birthday, President…

Book Reviews

Women at Ground Zero: Stories of Courage and Compassion

Women at Ground Zero: Stories of Courage and Compassion, by Susan Hagen and Mary Carouba, is a story of remarkable courage. . . the courage that took Hagen and Carouba from their comfortable home in Northern California to New York City to learn more about the first responders for the September 11th attack on New York City.  After observing only male responders being interviewed  on television, firefighter Hagen and investigative social worker Carouba decided to pack up and head to NYC to discover the stories of the women responders. They interviewed 30 women whose stories are told in detail in this riveting book that reads like a novel.  The individual stories are tributes to the unselfish acts of bravery and valor. All of the first responders, paramedics, firefighters and police should be remembered. Hagen and Carouba have done an excellent job of telling these stories. All should be commended for…