Family columnists
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Writing Home: My annual shameless plug
“A book has no unwanted calories and you don’t have to worry about sizes as long as the subject matter appeals to the recipient.” ~Sue Grafton If there’s a reader on your gift list, I’d be honored if you’d consider my essay collection ($16.95) this Christmas. The 93 previously published pieces in Writing Home first appeared in a variety of national magazines and newspapers, including Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion, Reader’s Digest, Country Gardens, and The Christian Science Monitor. These essays were written during the years I worked from home while raising my son. The late Detroit News columnist, George Cantor, wrote about the book after spending a day visiting my favorite hometown haunts with…
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Let’s talk …
“Lack of communication leaves fear and doubt.” ~Kellan Lutz Lately I’ve been thinking about communication — and what makes good communication. You’ll be seeing a lot of quotes along these lines over the next few weeks. I tend to be an over-communicator, and I’ve had lots of practice. After college, I had publishing jobs that involved regular meetings and follow-up phone calls. Later, as a newspaper columnist, my career was all about talking to people in print. (Early in my marriage, one of my in-laws told me I “talk too much.”) But after years of living among both chatterboxes and quiet people, I’m much more comfortable with the chatterboxes. While…