Her Beautiful Brain

“A daring and ambitious memoir that bestows unexpected rewards on the reader.” –Seattle Times

“Unflinching, tragic and compassionate.” –Shelf Awareness

I’ve lived with the loss of my mom, and the fear of Alzheimer’s, for a long time now. I understand that I am stuck with this particular fear; yours may be cancer or heart disease. But I also understand its value: which is to continually remind me that I have no idea what the next day or decade might hold. Now is the time for me to do all that I feel called most urgently to do.

I am my mother’s daughter. Like her, I would prefer to keep traveling under my own steam and enjoying the view along the way. Like her, I would rather my brain not get all wrapped up in a big tangle of ropes. But hers did, and mine might too.

UPCOMING CLASSES:
October 6 to November 17, Memoir Writing Workshop. Six Friday mornings at Seattle Central College/Continuing Education. In-person. 
October 8, Write On The Sound Writers’ Conference, Edmonds, WA. “Building Strong Characters in Memoir.” In-person.
November 4, Hugo House, “Setting the Scene,” a three-hour seminar for writers of memoir and non-fiction. In-person.
November 2, 11 and 16, Hugo House, “More Questions Than Answers: When Memoir Writing Becomes the Story of the Search.” Three Thursday evenings from 5-7pm. In-person.
NEW WORK:
3rd Act Magazine, Summer 2023: “Shelly Parks Wants You to Get to Know Cohousing.”
3rd Act Magazine, Spring 2023: “Memoir Writing in the Time of the Pandemic.” 

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