One is my first foray into public radio. The plan is to contribute one story a month, though I enjoyed it so much that I’m now angling for greater frequency. Though this is a humorous parenting story, I’ve been told to submit about different topics–not just parenting.

http://www.kqed.org/a/perspectives/R201107250735

The second is the latest in the CNN Seeking Serenity column–about the lingering fear after one has tussled with serious illness. The incident described in the piece is from a while back. I meant this essay mostly as a humor piece as well,  but it struck a chord with cancer survivors and the comments turned kind of serious.

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/26/seeking-serenity-serious-illness-won%E2%80%99t-get-off-my-back/

I was in New York for a week recently and had some great book-related meetings. Hope to have some fun news in the near future.

I hope you’re having a fantastic summer.

The latest in my Seeking Serenity column is a series of interviews with well-known folks I met at the various festivals in Aspen. Here it is: http://bit.ly/nlNBf1.

But I didn’t see my story as a celebrity piece as such. For one, these are all very substantive people who have worked hard and done extraordinary things. They’re not famous because of sex tapes or large behinds. And their lives are full and dynamic and often filled with the stress that comes from great achievements. I thought it’d be interesting to hear how they coped, what they did about stress, how they viewed serenity and whether they felt they’ve ever found it.

Which is why this particular comment from one of the readers caught my attention. Actually it kind of broke my heart.

Quantum Fireball

KELOI is correct. Of what interest is this to the average reader? One other link goes to a family that just lost both their bread-winner jobs because of state layoffs. How do you achieve peace with that? There are millions of people out of work and losing their homes. How do you achieve peace with that? Young men are coming back from Afghanistan crippled and maimed. How do you achieve peace with that? I think this article is biased toward the very people who are most NOT likely to lose their jobs. Aspen. Right. One of the most wealthy areas of the country…I’ll meditate on that.

These are tough time for many of us everywhere. And I certainly am no stranger to tragedy. But as much as we all feel mired in tests, surrounded by them on all sides like a tunnel in a wave that may or may not collapse at any moment,  I don’t think we can lose our hope and optimism.

Because what would we have left then?

I hear you, Quantum Fireball. But I respectfully disagree. I think these times of great difficulty and suffering are exactly when we must listen to one another and exchange stories, draw inspiration, and seek those gems of wisdom that are made manifest only through extreme hardship.

If you are new and are looking for my 365 days of writing, I’m sorry to report that I took it down several months ago. It did not seem appropriate somehow to leave it up in a blog format. I hope to write about that entire journey someday in a venue that can do it justice–and perhaps even help folks.

Here’s my latest on CNN Health, called How Words Have the Power to Heal: http://bit.ly/lsGcqk

With love and gratitude,

Amanda

I did want to post a link to my latest on CNN Health’s Seeking Serenity: A life less cluttered. You can read it here.

I have had an uneasy relationship with stuff for a few years now—to the point where I’ve even had anxiety attacks once or twice walking the aisles of one of those huge discount warehouse stores. The stuff gives me very little pleasure these days—and if it does, for the blink of an eye only.

I am heading to the Aspen literary festival for the third year. I really have not had a moment to reflect on what all has happened these past years, but just remembering how I felt during that first year I attended—and how I feel now—I know that the leap has been tremendous.

I have intentions for the festival this year. I will hold those intentions close for now. But what I will do, at the request of a dear friend, is report back on the happenings.

Onward!

Here’s the latest entry in my Seeking Serenity column on CNN Health. It’s about college grads who are struggling in a tough job market:

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/25/seeking-serenity-stressed-new-grads-harness-your-idealism/

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/11/seeking-serenity-when-lawyers-go-zen/

Also, assuming the bloody airline ticket prices come down a bit, I’m heading to Aspen Words again for the literary festival this coming June. My work juried into the memoir category. The course is taught by Erica Jong (yes, that Erica Jong!). She just sent around a ‘required reading list’ that had about a half-dozen tomes on it (um, the festival is in a month). Thank the Lord I’d read some of the books already. I’m so thrilled that at least one of my writing friends from last year will be in the class again.

I’m also hoping to nab a few interviews for my column at the Ideas Fest, which will be going on while I’m still in town.

Will you guys please keep me in mind if you have any ideas that seem relevant to the column? I’d love to hear them and do some digging. I’ve already connected with a bunch of people who are doing really interesting work in the meditation/mindfulness area.

Be well.

But as time went on, it became clear that I had outgrown that narrative in some fundamental way. Rather than explain the entire story, the blog posts felt jarring and disjointed to me—and at odds with my reality now. And while that fact may be a welcome testament to how far I have come in a reasonably short period of time, it also does me a disservice as I embark upon new adventures.

I will tell the story of those magical first 365 days of my writing career. But I will tell it as a whole, in a book or series of essays somewhere—and very soon, I hope.

In the meantime, I am developing a new website that will include updates to my current work, archives of my published material and also a blog in which I hope to post more frequently than I have been these past few months.

My column at the wonderful Zomppa International Food Magazine is on hiatus for the foreseeable future while I try my hand at a couple of opportunities that have presented themselves. I will be posting details very soon.

Many thanks to all for the warm support.

Amanda

It has been a while, hasn’t it?

I’m sorry to say that I have spent the past several months locked in a closed loop of roller coaster emotions, riding the lows of fear and the highs of short-lived relief. For some reason I caught every bug, virus and cootie going around this winter. And depending on the day, I was certain I had: lung cancer (a two-month cough); breast cancer (shooting pain and swollen lymph nodes); and/or brain cancer (dizziness and lumps in my neck).

I am EXHAUSTED.

And mostly because of the fear. The bloody fear takes every last bit of creative energy out of you and repurposes it for its own detestable schemes, shackling you down when all you want to do is take flight again.

Yes, I have been to see the doctors. Both the naturopath and the oncologist. I found out yesterday that the scan I took earlier this week is all clear and the bloodwork is stellar. And though there are one or two things that remain puzzling (to me), I am choosing to move on for now. (Or rather, I’m choosing to do my best to move on.)

Have I taken my own health advice? Have I been juicing? Eating well? Walking? Meditating?

Uh, no.

I have been eating every cookie, chocolate and ice cream that has crossed my path. Because sugar is my crack and, though I’m a recovering addict, unrelenting stress makes me leap off the wagon of sobriety and common sense.

Today, however, I’m feeling most optimistic.

Three new links:

(1) If you’ve ever had my cilantro pesto with grilled shrimp pizza or pasta (and liked it), here’s my “recipe”:

http://www.zomppa.com/2011/04/13/the-ironic-chaos-theory/

(2) An admittedly kooky recipe I came up with for pudding made with chia seeds (that’s right, as in chia pets) went viral. (Don’t laugh too hard, though: chia seeds are a superfood, with more omega-3 fatty acids than even flax seeds). Here’s the Vanilla Chia Pet Pudding recipe:

http://www.zomppa.com/2011/04/03/the-ironic-vanilla-chia-pet-pudding-recipe/

And finally, (3) a piece about my visiting Italian cousins, a tourist trap burger joint and an oh-my-dear-heavens Ahi tuna burger:

http://www.zomppa.com/2011/04/05/the-ironic-tray-gourmet-eats-two-italian-cousins/

(Is anyone else (aside from my mother) catching the irony of me giving folks recipes? The column ain’t called The Ironic for nothing.)

If you’ve written me recently and I have not responded, please do forgive me. All manners of things have been falling through the cracks over here, but I’m aiming to remedy that in short order.

Aside from my weekly food and health column on Zomppa.com, I am working on a multi-essay series for another media outlet, tentatively entitled The Great Reconstruction. One guess what it’s about.

Here’s to the lifting of the haze.

Here’s my latest in The Ironic, about juicing to cleanse, heal and renew: http://bit.ly/fPff6v.