The past belongs to everyone who was there. What do you remember? ADD YOUR STORY
Blog
We are so glad to get everyone’s stories and comments. It’s great reconnecting with old friends, family, and fans of Mom’s — not to mention hearing from people we’ve never even met but who have been inspired to contact us after reading or hearing about The Kids are All Right.
We want to keep the conversation going….So, we are on Facebook and Twitter. Friend us, become a fan, follow us, send us a tweet!
As witnessed in the Page 99 test: “Mom had other things to think about. June, her character on Loving, was about to murder her husband Garth Slater, who kept her drunk so he could sneak into their daughter Lily’s room at night to molest her. In the script, she kills Garth to protect Lily. While that may have been good for Lily, it was not good for us. June was being sent to an insane asylum which meant Mom was out of a job as of that spring.”
Click through to watch the clip from Loving, and decide for yourself if you think June did the right thing!
At the Texas Book Festival this past Saturday, I had the incredible honor of sitting on a panel with Nadine Eckhardt and Diane Wilson. These women are extraordinary, and the standing-room only crowd was proof.
I had never met Nadine, a beauty queen and a self-described “fifties girl,” who served on LBJs staff and managed to marry – and divorce – two of Texas’ most legendary scoundrels, but I had already had the pleasure of meeting Diane, a fourth generation shrimper and a gorgeous, incomparable force of nature, who single-handedly took down some legendary scoundrels of her own: Formosa Plastics, a corporate giant with a habit of dumping toxic waste in the waters of her hometown of Seadtrift, Texas, making her county the most polluted in the state. Read more →
I used to LOVE to make mixed tapes. I had a pretty regular formula for what I thought were pretty awesome mixes. There was always a classical piece; something I had heard in a movie, usually. Read more →
We are getting more and more notes from folks who have lived lives similar to ours. Thank you to all those who are sending us their stories! Keep them coming! We are hoping to turn this collective experience into advocacy for foster siblings…
This is from Patricia Cratty of Carlsbad, CA:
“I just read about your book and am eager to read it. My father died when I was two, my brother three and my sister one. A few years later my Mother lived with a man who was an alcoholic and abusive. They had twins when I was ten. When I was 16, my Mother committed suicide. The twins were taken by an aunt out of state, my brother lived with our grandparents and my sister and I lived with an Aunt & Uncle who didn’t need or want more kids, they had four of their own.” Read more →
Kira Kowalski-Kline sent us this note — just another person who has come through childhood and landed on her feet! We are so touched that folks out there are relating to this book. Kira mentions that she’d like to write her story — which is exactly what Liz and Diana were hoping would happen! We are thinking of holding workshops in the new year to help people do just that; so, if you would be interested in attending, please email us!
Hi “Kids”,
I am writing to thank you for putting your stories out there for me to find. I, too, lost both of my parents. It was 1976, and I was sixteen. My Mom had cancer since I was ten, and my Dad died of a heart attack 6 months before she eventually died, on Christmas Day. Read more →
So, while Amanda and I were sitting around eating bonbons, Liz and Dan went to California to whip up some frenzy on The Kids are All Right Tour of 2009! In other words, they did two readings – one in LA and one in San Fransisco. And a kick-ass interview!
Check out Liz and Dan on the Radio!
Then watch this video, because, Radio? Someone still loves you! Don’t forget your headphones if you’re at work.
It was a dilemma–should we include an afterword? Fast forward ten years to let readers know just how “all right” we were? Diana and I tried several versions, and truth be told, we loved each of them! We sent our favorite, cut and pasted below, to our our editor Julia Pastore who also wavered. “Diana’s last line is sooo good,” she said. “Such a perfect place to end.” We agreed. As Diana pointed out, “We can always publish it on our website!”
And so, in response to the dozens of emails and questions at readings from fans and curious folks who simply want to know, “What happened next?”… here is the afterword that almost was: Read more →
Thanks to Kristina, who survived somewhat similar circumstances growing up, for writing in to share her experience of reading the book. Here’s what she has to say:
“At 16, my mother was dying from cancer, my father left, and I had to fend for myself. Fast forward 22 years, and my life shows few outward scars but instead all the markers of success: a solid education, a successful career, a loving husband and well-adjusted children. I speak of that time so rarely that even those I love most know few of the details, if only because I have no answer to their inevitable question: ‘But how did you do it?‘”
Better late than never!! Here is our big TV debut on Good Morning America….
