Did you hear me scream? Iโm guessing you did.
I signed with an indie press last week. I couldnโt be more excited. The years โ dare I say almost decades โ of perseverance, persistence, and (sometimes) pain are over, and my book will be a book!
Thank you to everyone who supported me and believed in me. Thank you to everyone who encouraged me and cheered me on. Thank you to everyone who picked me up when I fell down and gave me a push (or a hug) to keep me going.
I kept going, and it paid off.
What publisher? Heliotrope Books. Where are they located? Get this โ the East Village of New York City. They know my โhood; they get my past. When will it be out? I believe by next fall, 2018.
Now the fun stuff starts. The final copyediting. A final title. Designing a cover. Finding endorsements and reviews and local indie bookstores to host a book talk.
So those of you who have supported and believed in and encouraged and cheered me, the best work is next, and Iโm sure Iโll be leaning on you again. Hope you donโt mind.
Letโs have fun with this. My book will be a book!
I’d love to hear your thoughts, and please share this post with others if it resonates with you!
Congratulations!!! Such terrific news!! Jenna
Thank you so much! I am so excited!!
HUGE congratulations, Lisa. LONG journey ending correctly. So very happy for you and proud of the excellent work you have done on this book.
Thank you so much Laurie!!!
Congrats! If you want to come North to Burlington VT, Phoenix books might well host you.
Thank you Dave! I will most likely take you up on that when the book is out next fall. ๐
?????????????????
Hi Lisa ๐ Been waiting quite a while for your book to come out and am delighted to see that it’s happening relatively soon ๐ Would you be able to weigh in as to whether this was “Jacob House”? Been having a discussion with the photographer on Instagram these past couple days and would really appreciate your input. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bajc8wwlQgK/ Also very interested in figuring out which building was “Gracemere House” where I stayed for 5 months in 1983 as a one-year-old. My mother Aase served at Jacob House during the same time period along with her friend Marvi who worked in the kitchen. Not sure exactly when you and your mother were there but this may have been after your time. If you have any photos you might be willing to share I’d love to see them someday. Many blessings <3 Sharon http://www.hudsonvalleyruins.org/rob/?p=1619
Hi Sharon! I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to reply. We believe the fireplace is from Jacob House, from the dining room. Not certain, but we think so. My mom was at Jacob House from about 1978 to 1981 I believe, so I was around there about those times as well (except for when I wasn’t allowed there – long story – and when I started to step away). Gracemere was up the road and hill from Jacob House. I’m not sure how else to describe it. It was a relatively long walk and a short drive. ๐ The photos on the website are not the Gracemere I remember. I’ve asked my mom to look for photos, and she eventually will. I will as well to see if there’s anything we can get you. Where are you now?
Thanks for reaching out and for being excited about my book. I am as well ๐ <3 Lisa
Thanks so much Lisa! I would greatly appreciate any photos that you and your mother are able to dig up of Gracemere, Jacob House, the members and/or the grounds!! ๐
My mother and I are now living in Dokka, Norway (her home town). My American father and two younger sisters remain in the States (California and New Mexico).
We left the east coast early in 1985 when my father’s father in California got cancer, and were regular church goers at the Berkeley Center up until I was 10 and we moved in with my grandmother about two hours away in Palo Alto.
Over the course of a few years — amidst rumors of Moon’s troubled family and complaints about corruption and heavy handedness among the Korean leaders — we drifted away. I was almost 15 when I attended my last workshop at the Aetna Springs resort in Pope Valley, California.
When Nansook’s book came out that was pretty much the end for us. My mother took it the hardest. My youngest sister, only about four when we stopped regularly attending services, wasn’t directly affected but I’m sure she was affected by my mother’s angst and loss of direction as well as the breakdown of my parents’ arranged marriage.
Ironically our lives on the whole seemed a lot more normal, (relatively) functional, and structured when we were in the weird cult — and I do look back on that period with nostalgia and continue to feel the loss of our church family.
My last regular contact with the UC was when I was a college student and rented half a room at what was formerly the Berkeley Center (Bay Area services were moved to San Leandro long ago). It was very cheap and right across the street from campus, but unfortunately my housemates didn’t do their assigned chores so I only stayed one semester. At that time the first and second floors were occupied by a UC-run boarding school. As far as I know all my roommates on the third floor were second generation members.
Thank you so much again for your input on the fireplace, and for your offer to look for photos!
<3 Sharon ๏๏