Beyond THE FUTURE: Blog Action Day 2008

Thanks so much to Tara over at Paris Parfait for posting a link to Blog Action Day 2008. The topic this year is poverty, and I've just registered to join more than 900 bloggers from around the world as they explore this critical topic on October 15. Join up at blogactionday.org.

Beyond FUN: Carleen Brice Book Club Visit

Denver novelist Carleen Brice, author of Orange Mint & Honey (and editor of Age Ain't Nothin' but a Number), visited with my neighborhood book club last night at a nifty restaurant in the south suburbs. The evening flew by thanks to the terrific company, service, food, and maybe one or two glasses of wine (woohoo!). The event was attended by ten of my book-lovin' neighbors, two of their moms, my old buddy Donna, and Lisa of Eudamonia fame. Thanks to everyone who attended and thanks again to Carleen for making our special summer edition book club meeting so memorable!

Prior to dinner, Lisa, Carleen, and I celebrated the long-awaited release of Amy Mackinnon's Tethered by posing for a photo at a new Borders. Amy's launch party was probably in full swing back in MA when we took our photo; from today's report at The Writers' Group blog, that event was a ton of fun, too. Congratulations, Amy!

Beyond FANTASTIC: ONE SISTER'S SONG to be an RFB&D Audio Book!

A post about Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D), "the only nonprofit organization in the country recording textbooks for students of all ages who are blind, print-impaired, or physically challenged," is filed in my September 2006 archive. While I'm happy to return as a volunteer in the Rocky Mountain Unit of RFB&D's fourth annual Colorado Authors' Day next month, I'm also THRILLED to be an author of one of the books the unit has selected to read and record during this year's event.

Bob Janowski, Production Director of the Rocky Mountain Unit (and one of my new favorite people in Denver along with Betsy Boudreau, Executive Director, who originally contacted me about RFB&D a while back) explained this honor in a recent e-mail:

"Guest readers and our experienced volunteers will produce an audio version of your book, which will then become a part of the national RFB&D catalog. This means your work will be among approximately 120,000 current titles available to almost a quarter million members with print disabilities."

WOW. As I wrote in my earlier post about RFB&D, "Success in so many areas depends greatly on the simple ability to read, and so often we take that ability for granted. Imagine being a fourth-grader who struggles in school not because she doesn't want to learn, but because words on a page simply don't make sense." RFB&D helps fill a critical need, and now One Sister's Song will be part of its important catalog. Talk about news that made my day!

Beyond FITTING: Swingset Flowers for Evan

Thanks to the thoughtful efforts of Jennifer and Shannon, Swingset Flowers for Evan is up and running. Visit this Flickr pool for just a glimpse of how many lives in faraway places Evan has impacted.

I love the simplicity and meaning of this tribute and look forward to participating tomorrow, the day of Evan's morning memorial service in Pasadena.

To read more about Evan (and to see a fantastic, recent photo of this talented, special-in-so-many-ways young man), visit his mom's blog and dive into some of her archives, or read some of the amazing essays Vicki has written for the Special Needs Mama section at Literary Mama. Then consider posting your own Swingset Flowers photo in memory of Evan, a little boy who loved to swing.

Beyond FAREWELL: Evan Kamida (July 30, 2000-July 24, 2008)

My heart's breaking for Vicki Forman, her husband, and their daughter, Josie. Somehow Evan is gone. Sweet Evan, pictured with Vicki in my post from the other day. Sweet Evan, whose love of swinging at the park is captured so eloquently in one of his mom's earliest Literary Mama columns, "The Mother at the Swings." I am that mother at the swings. I don't have a child with special needs but I have children, and I'm fascinated by the many ways women of all situations cope with what life delivers, or drops, or detonates.

Sweet Evan, who was seven like my youngest, and who would've turned eight next week.

Thanks to Jennifer and Kristina for making me aware, in so many ways. Both these ladies have noted on their blogs how donations may be made in Evan's memory.

Blessings to Vicki for all she does, and all she's going through.

Beyond FINESSE: Vicki Forman
originally posted: July 22, 2008

Vicki Forman amazes me. She's a creative writing instructor at the University of Southern California; a Pushcart-nominated contributor to print and on-line publications; an essayist published in anthologies such as Love You to Pieces: Creative Writers on Raising a Child with Special Needs; a mom of two kiddos, one of which (sweet Evan pictured on BEYOND Understanding with his mom) has multiple special needs; and a terrific, prolific blogger. Impressive, huh? But wait, there's even more….

Vicki generously offers her insightful take on things others might not even notice through her writings (consider her current Speak Softly post regarding the recent BlogHer conference and the concept of integral thinking she's applied to it), but her current Special Needs Mama column on the stellar Literary Mama site pretty much knocked me over with its powerful message. In "Mothers Like Us: Contemplating My Tribe," Vicki explores how her "motherhood demographic" altered as Evan, her second child, grew and his unique arsenal of required accessories (such as oxygen and medications on the go) became part of his mom's arsenal, too:

"At another party, I remember removing a one-gallon ziplock from my diaper bag, one that contained half a dozen medications for Evan's various ailments (the pink syrupy one for his lungs, the clear liquid for his heart, the white tablets I ground up for his brain) and noticing as I drew up the drug and plunged it into his G-tube that the other mothers had somehow…pulled their lawns chairs back a bit, into a new circle somewhat further removed."

But Vicki doesn't dwell on the negatives, which is why her writing remains so welcoming and accessible, I think, even when she's tackling such heart-wrenching issues. Instead, she discusses her eventual acceptance of the fact she no longer belongs in her old tribe, and her realization she's begun to develop the new tribe she needs. "Together, we drew our chairs up to one another in a new circle and asked about therapies, treatments, drugs and doctors. We called each other to tell stories the depths of which most others couldn't comprehend…." And she ends her piece acknowledging the fact that all mothers need support of some kind, and that while some may not know how to respond when she pulls out her son's big bag of meds, all moms -- most women, I believe -- belong to a tribe that instinctively acknowledges the demands of a life with extra heavy-duty responsibilities and wishes moms of children with special needs an extra blessing of good will, even when we fail to show it.

Beyond FAMILY: Summer Travels and Such
originally posted: July 12, 2008

Just a note to say summer has worked its magic on yet another blogger...after six weeks of steady kid craziness; heavy-duty gardening; an unexplainable urge to organize closets, e-mails, and recipes; and an annual trip home to see lots of family (including our ever-photogenic nephew, Evan (pictured on main blog), and new beloved niece, Rachael) I am officially throwing in the towel. Be back in August! K.

Karen DeGroot Carter, a native of Syracuse and a graduate of Syracuse University, lives in Denver. Her first novel, One Sister¡¯s Song explores issues faced by people of mixed-race heritage. Her blog, BEYOND Understanding, highlights resources that promote tolerance and celebrate diversity.

Karen DeGroot Carter is actively seeking representation for her second novel, Under the Humming Tide, in which a woman strives to reintroduce herself to her autistic brother, understand her disabled daughter, and somehow keep her crumbling family intact.

UPDATE FEBRUARY 2007: Karen DeGroot Carter also seeks representation for One Sister's Song, which is now available for sale to a new publisher.