Pitch for Civility by Susan Burrowes | Feb 28, 2019 | Articles, Writer to Writer Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up to Susan Burrowes’s July 2018 article “Writing is Only the Beginning: A Look into an Author’s Prepublication Journey.“ When you write about yourself and your family, there is a risk.  In this era of rudeness, it is hard to predict not only what people will say about your work but how they will say it. I wrote a book about my parenting mistakes in the face of sudden,

Recently, I checked into the hospital. It was a minor procedure but I underwent all of the pre-surgery scans and questions one has come to expect. Do you have any allergies? Is someone picking you up after surgery? I was sent for lab work, and an EKG to assure that nothing unexpected would happen. The surgical center was wonderful. They attended to my comfort, they were very caring. What they didn’t do, didn’t consider was that I might not want an opioid, which was their first defense against

It’s another family gathering, and only one of my two daughters are with me. My daughter Hannah has chosen not to join the annual food fest.       I understand why she, a struggling artist, avoids our loud and loving family, eager to give her good advice about her future. She should be a teacher, they tell her, a realtor, an illustrator, maybe a farmer.       “I already am something” she said to me three years ago, pulling me outside for a walk. That was the last time she joined our annual

The Power of Forgiveness                                              Hannah was going to cut off my thumbs, kill me in my sleep, and burn down the house with our family inside.  My daughter shifted from moody to malicious over just a few months, leaving our family shattered and stunned.             Hannah's little sister endured the most abuse. “You little cunt, you think you’re better than me?” Stinging slaps and beheaded dolls fueled Camilla's withdrawal to some happy place inside her