As a child, I struggled with writing. That transformed when I was in graduate school studying for a Ph.D. in biochemistry and confronted with composing a dissertation. As I worked on my thesis, I felt enlivened in a new way. I assumed it was because I was nearing completion of my degree, yet now, in hindsight, I can see the joy of writing was surfacing in me.
During the next few years, I wrote many scientific grants and papers, yet writing was not a priority. It was simply my job. While I didn’t do any creative writing, I honed my editing skills and became very comfortable reading scientific literature and research.
After the birth of my second child, I began a new career as a Yoga teacher and eventually opened a Yoga studio. Creating a business plan and running the studio involved a lot of writing, and I enjoyed that work immensely. I attributed that to the fact that I was starting my own business, and of course, would be motivated to write about that!
I blogged extensively for the Yoga studio, and each time I wrote, I felt this was what I was meant to be doing. However, I shied away from writing on a schedule or deadline. Typically, I would wait for inspiration to come and then create a blog. That meant that there were interminable stretches when I wrote nothing.
In 2012, my sister Phyllis Bronson, also a biochemist, asked for help writing a book. I worked with Phyllis extensively to write “Moods, Emotions, and Aging: Hormones and the Mind-body Connection” published by Rowman and Littlefield in 2013. As I was editing and organizing that book, I felt pulled to write more.
In late 2017, my mom passed away. She was an avid writer. Ten years earlier, at age 81, she wrote of her life as a child but never published it. After she passed, I polished her memoir and published it on Amazon. Writing and editing helped me through the grief process, and I knew this was what I should be doing. The book “A Life Well Lived: Memoirs of a Woman Who Loved Life” is available on Amazon now, and I know it would tickle my mom to know that.
In 2018, after 15 years of running the Yoga studio, I retired and started a third career—this time as a freelance writer. At that time, my son was a Peace Corps Volunteer living in a rural village in Liberia, West Africa. I visited him, intending to find something to write about. My first novel, “When North Becomes South,” was born out of that trip. I wrote that book to get people to think a little differently about the world. We take so much for granted in our lives, and I believe understanding the fragility of our infrastructure is important.
Since completing that book, I have focused my efforts on writing contemporary fiction, highlighting other current issues facing our society. My goal is to write books which encourage readers to pause and reflect on what is truly important in their lives.
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