I am proud to welcome and introduce you to Lizbeth Meredith, Award-winning author of the fantastic memoir, Pieces of Me. I am a big fan of Lizbeth’s and her wonderful, inspirational, and hold-your-breath book. The best memoirs entertain, inspire, and teach. In Pieces of Me, Lizbeth accomplishes all three and more. Her harrowing true story of the abduction of her daughters by her ex-husband and the significant challenges she faced in her fight to bring them home from Greece is a tension filled page-turner. Meredith is a wonderful writer and I consider Pieces of Me to be a must-read.
Lizbeth has been kind enough to share her true love and the many treasures she received by writing and publishing her wonderful memoir. I encourage you to buy and read Pieces of Me.
.
On Writing/A Different Kind of Wealth
by
Lizbeth Meredith
“Congratulations on the success with your book,” my old friend from journalism school said recently when we reconnected after 25-plus years. It meant a lot, coming from him. He’d been published right out of the shoot in college.
My spirits soared.
I thanked him and asked if he’d published his novel. “Writing books doesn’t pay anything,” he answered. “I didn’t see the point.”
And down they came with a crash.
He wasn’t wrong. Writers don’t make much. I remember when an amiable drug dealer moved into my neighborhood just after my memoir was published. I watched in awe as he closed sale after sale without having to run pesky Facebook ads or learn to Tweet. In one short weekend, he likely netted more than I did after a year of fairly brisk book sales.
But despite this, I do see the point. And the more time goes on, the more points I find.
From big to small to the downright trivial, here are a few reasons (in no particular order) of why I’m immeasurably richer for having become a writer.
- I’ve found my tribe.
From authors met through my publisher at She Writes Press (like Virginia Simpson!) to connecting with author Susan Joyce in Uruguay who I met on Facebook’s We Love Memoirs, from my awesome essay editor Margot Starbuck to my local writing community here in Alaska, these kinships are instant, authentic, and lasting. We writers get each other. We understand that writing is difficult, publishing is traumatic, and marketing is nearly impossible. We do what we can to lift one another up. To celebrate each other’s successes, commiserate on disappointments, and inform one another of contests, grants, and other opportunities as they arise.
- Readers, especially those who write online reviews or who have hosted book groups, have made the near two decades of writing and revision pay off, simply by sharing what my work meant to them. Sure, a part of me dies inside when I hear a reader tell someone they’ll lend my book out after they’ve finished reading rather than letting the friend buy my book. Yet I know I’m fortunate any time a busy individual stops to read my work at all. And that they recommended it to someone else? So very gratifying.
- Writing nonfiction has deepened my relationships with the people who matter most to me: my family. My daughters have expressed appreciation for the legacy of our story. I was even able to meet a brother for the first time at a book event. Cousins I’d never met have reached out to share their stories. There’s no question that telling family secrets was not popular with my entire family, but by concealing identities and being spare in details, my writing helped more relationships than it upset.
- I got to stand next to my true love, author Anthony Bourdain.Well, not actually. But I’d always hoped I’d meet him. Imagine my surprise when on January 6, 2018, we were side by side on Amazon’s best-selling memoir list (which changes hourly, but I happened to catch it!). Although small and fleeting, I was thrilled all the same.)
- Our words hold the potential to change our world.
When I was in Argentina this past November, I kept seeing the image of a cartoon character—in parks, on busses, in windows—of a little girl with wild curly hair I later learned was named Mafalda.
Mafalda (link https://themunicheye.com/news/Mafalda, a-50-years-old-little-girl–2890) was created in 1964 by Joaquin Salvador Lavado, better known as Quino. At a time when free speech was squelched under Argentina’s dictatorship, six-year-old Mafalda found a way to innocently address topics that encouraged humanity and peace through the popular comic strip. Her influence reached many other countries, and in 2014, Mafalda’s 50thbirthday made headlines worldwide.
For me, Mafalda is the reassurance that no one can ever halt independent thought, and that confronting opposing views need not be aggressive, whiny, accusatory, or otherwise uncivilized to make one’s point clear and effective.
Some writers make good money selling articles or books. I’m open to becoming one of them. But money is just one kind of payment. The many other positives being a writer offers make it more than worth it.
Are you a writer? In what ways has it enriched your life?
Pieces of Me is available for purchase wherever books are sold.
You can find Lizbeth at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lizbethmeredithfan
Twitter: @LizbethMeredith
Enjoyed the article!