Here in the Middle: Stories of Love, Loss and Connection from the Ones Sandwiched In Between

by Christine Organ (Editor), Julie Jo Severson (Editor)

Overview

The middle years of life are ones of tremendous joy and unchartered challenges. Often times, these are the years when we are pulled in multiple directions, with the needs of our career, marriage, children, aging parents, and friendships all taking a toll on our time and energy. But it can also be a time filled with simple pleasures, deeper connections, and settling into our own skin. Here In The Middle is a collection of essays that gives voice to the complexity of the middle place, sandwiched between love and loss, with thirty-two writers sharing their stories, along with a piece of their heart and soul, so that readers can find acceptance, solace, and understanding.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684197804
Publisher:	220 Communications Publishing
Publication date:	11/11/2016
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.65(d)

About the Author

Christine Organ-co-curator and co-editor of this book-is a freelance writer who lives in the Chicago area with her husband and two sons. She is a staff writer for Scary Mommy and a regular contributor to Babble. Her work has also been published online with the New York Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Mamalode, Redbook, Country Living, Good Housekeeping, and Brain Child Magazine among others. She has also been published in print magazines, including UU World. She is the author of Open Boxes: The Gifts of Living a Full and Connected Life (a collection of stories that will make you feel really freaking good), and a contributor to I Just Want to Be Perfect (the fourth book in the bestselling "I Just Want to Pee Alone" series). You can often find her eating cookie dough or wasting time on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. She writes at www.christineorgan.com.

Julie Jo Severson-co-curator and co-editor of this book-is a former PR girl now freelance writer, journalist, editor, and lost-and-found attendant of two teens and a tween. Still an English major at heart, she finds solace in writing her way through those universal experiences that bind us together. In 2015, she launched her story telling blog, Carvings on a Desk, (www.carvingsonadesk.com ) to reconnect with her own voice swirling around in the middle. Since then, her creative nonfiction has also been featured on Ten to Twenty Parenting, Midlife Boulevard, Mamalode, BonBon Break, and elsewhere. She lives in Minnesota with her husband of twenty-plus years and their three kids.

Table of Contents

Table of contents
An Introduction to the Middle . 1
By Christine Organ
Beyond Describe .. 9
By Julie Jo Severson
Choosing to Say Yes.....................................................................................21
By Carol Heffernan
Dad's Bookcase............................................................................................27
By Patricia Jonik Stein
My Struggle with the Sun..........................................................................33
By Whitney Fleming
Living, Even in the Dying.............................................................................41
By Tina Porter
A Brother Thing...........................................................................................49
By Melissa Janisin
The Music Stand...........................................................................................55
By Lisa Pawlak
A Prayer for Serenity..63
By Jeanine DeHoney
We Cook..71
By Carol A. Cassara
Grandparent Privilege..77
By Jackie Pick
Pedicure with Dad..91
By Ashley Collins
I Can't Go Back, but I Can Always Remember.. 99
By Rudri Bhatt Patel
To Call You Mama.. 105
By Chelsea Schott
The Blue Room.. 121
By Jill Wilbur Smith
You Spin Me Right Round Baby, Right Round.. 131
By Alisa Schindler
Tomorrow Never Comes.. 139
By Georgia A. Hubley
Ten Years................................................................................................... 145
By Christine Carter
Moving Nana In.......................................................................................... 153
By Ambrosia Brody
At the Bridge of Gods............................................................................... 161
By R. Todd Fredrickson
Catching Up................................................................................................ 177
By Amy Halzel Willis
Time Turns Back on Itself....................................................................... 185
By Laura Grace Weldon
The Weight of Fridays.............................................................................. 191
By Kelly Garriott Waite
Shapes in the Clouds................................................................................ 199
By Pamela Valentine
Air Supply.. 207
By Kristie Betts Letter
Sounds of Love and Life.. 213
By Kim Love Stump
Stars I Will Find.. 225
By Julia Tagliere
The Things You Do for Love .. 235
By Katherine Mikkelson
Getting to Know Dad.. 243
By Diana Walters
Fragile.. 249
By Caroline M. Grant
They Grow Old So Fast.. 257
By Jennie Robertson
The Space Between.. 263
By Linda A. Janssen
Acknowledgments.. 269

Editorial Reviews

Advance Praise for Here in the Middle
"The curators deftly meld individual writers' voices into a chorus of raw and honest stories. The authors' accounts of how they navigate precious and often complicated relationships will touch readers at any stage of life but will leave others in the sandwich generation feeling understood and connected."
~ Caryn M. Sullivan, Award-winning author of Bitter or Better:
Grappling With Life on the Op-Ed Page, inspirational speaker and award-winning columnist
"This middle place - in between kids who are growing up too quickly and parents who look to us for help more than we look to them - is messy, confusing and overwhelming. This beautiful collection of essays will remind you that you're far from alone in the experience, and to treasure the days you have together with the people you love most. I'll revisit these pieces again and again!"
~ Jill Smokler, Founder of the parenting website, Scary Mommy and
New York Times bestselling author
"Here in the Middle is a wonderful collection of essays that explores the uncertainty of middle age and everything that comes with it: love, loss,
caregiving and the search for a strand of meaning to carry us through it all."
~ Emily Gurnon, Senior Content Editor, Health and Caregiving,
PBS Next Avenue
"A glittering collection of stories for anyone struggling with life in the middle."
~ Andra Watkins, NY Times bestselling author of Not Without My
Father
"The essays in Here in the Middle offer hope, understanding, compassion,
and levity for anyone who is simultaneously caring for their children and aging parents. Christine Organ and Julie Jo Severson beautifully weave together stories that reflect on the evolving and sometimes confusing roles of child, then parent, and then... "Here in the Middle," where roles flip-flop, often without notice, leaving those in the middle feeling like they are "neither fully one place nor another," as one mother describes.
Kudos to Christine and Julie for compiling this much-needed book, which provides sandwiched parents with a healthy dose of reality, strength, and comfort."
~ Julie Burton, Author of The Self-Care Solution-A Modern Mother's
Must-Have Guide to Health and Well-Being (She Writes Press, 2016)
"Here In The Middle plucked at my heartstrings and brought tears to my eyes. Each essay resonated with me as a mom and as a daughter and reminded me that every relationship we fold ourselves into is a unique blessing to be cherished. These relationships are unconditional and everlasting,
regardless of how life's pace waxes and wanes. This book can serve to teach something to those who haven't reached the middle quite yet, but for those of us who are there, Here In The Middle makes us feel somehow less alone."
~ Dana Faletti, author of Beautiful Secret

From the Publisher