Monday, January 23, 2012

My neighbors, Emily and Max

by Laura Sullivan

Hi friends,

I had the great pleasure of listening to my neighbor, Emily Colson, talk about her book, Dancing with Max yesterday at the Duxbury Free Library. I have to be truthful, I went more slightly as a neighborly obligation, and left wishing my whole family came with me. She is a wonderful speaker, and gives a perspective on children with autism, and how a life lived with joyful abandon can be liberating to anyone.

I have known Emily for a few years now, and can attest that she is always sunny, happy, and smiling. She completely embraces the joy  in life, and all that she has with her son, Max.

Thank you for sharing your story, Emily, you are an inspiration, and very funny, too!

See Emily's blog at: http://emilycolson.com/emilys-blog

Dancing with Max is available at Westwinds today. Come in and pick up a copy, and say "Hi" to Emily and Max when they see you on their adventures around town.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

New Years Reading Resolutions



by Laura Sullivan

I like making New Year's resolutions. I make lots, because one is bound to get done, and I feel so accomplished. (I think it's because I like making lists and crossing things off. First: make list. Then when the list is done, cross off "Make list." Who's ahead of the game!) 

This year I am making a reading resolution, and it's now public, so you can ask me how it's going when you see me on the street. But if I am on the street, it is likely that my car is broken down. So stop and help. Then ask me how my resolution is going. 

I am going to read Middlemarch, by George Eliot.(This portrait is of George at 30. I hope that she's not just been reading her book- she appears to be suffering from terrible ennui.)  I know, some of you think, "Oh, I've read that four times" or "Every Summer!" But for me, it is my literary Waterloo. I have tried three times to get into this book that by all rights I should love, but something stops me at about page 150. No more- I will finish it!

I have been successful in a reading New Year's resolution book before- I resolved to read the New Testament in its entirety a few years ago, and I did. And I knew how that story would end… go figure. Future years' resolutions will include James Joyce's Ulysses, The Old Testament, and You Can't Go Home Again, by Tom Wolfe. 

I have read and enjoyed many a giant tome. War and Peace, Les Miserables- easy. All Jane Austen- child's play. I drool over Downton Abbey. I should be wrapped up in a Victorian Novel with a cup of tea right now. I vow to get to the bottom of this book once and for all, and cross it off my list.

I'd love to hear- what's your reading resolution?