Review This

Review This

Thank you, Facebook, for the reminders that this month marks the fourth anniversary of the release of my memoir, Hiking Naked: A Quaker Woman’s Search for Balance. For several days, photos have popped up in my Facebook memories of events that launched the book. 

Looking back at these images has helped me relive the feelings of excitement and support that marked the culmination of nearly twenty years of writing this story. And the help and encouragement have just kept coming since 2017.

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If I were writing the book now, I’d need much more than the three pages of “Thank You” I wrote at publication time. Today, one of the additional appreciations goes to Diana Wenzel, a photographer and book reviewer for Review This Reviews. As I reminisced on social media about my book’s journey, Diana reminded me of the review she’d posted in November 2020. Big thanks to Diana for her thoughtful recommendation. 

Now I’m once again in the position of asking writers I admire to pen brief reviews for my new book  coming out in the spring of 2022. It’s humbling to contact them to ask them to not only read Writer in a Life Vest but also write a few words of praise. I know it’s a big ask, and I appreciate deeply when they take the time to read my manuscript and comment. The “experts” say the commendations on a book’s back cover don’t influence readers. As an avid reader of those quotes, I beg to differ. When I see a thumbs up from another writer, especially from someone whose work I’m familiar with, I’m more likely to add the book to my “to-be-read” stack. How about you? Are you swayed by “blurbs?” 

A number of my writer friends have new books coming out this year, and I look forward to singing their praises. Watch here for news about titles including Beyond the Human Realm by Gene Helfman, Shoal Water by Kip Robinson Greenthal, Wolf Tree by Heather Durham, Slouching Toward Radiance by Heidi Barr, and Mile Marker Six by Ana Maria Spagna.  

So much good reading awaits!