On a whim...

At her suggestion, my writing buddy Jamie Nielsen and I submitted to the Arizona Author's Association 2020 annual writing contest. I submitted both a personal essay and a poem, and Jamie submitted an essay, "Letting Go of a Wheelchair." We were both bowled over to learn that we placed; Jamie received the 2nd place prize for her essay, and I received 1st place for my poem, The Gift of Her Journals. Our pieces were published in the 2021 Arizona Literary Magazine. Winning 1st place for that poem was a sorely needed boost to my motivation to complete my memoir, as it is my intention to have the poem appear at the beginning of my memoir, whenever I may finish it.