Author: Cynthia Reyes

It’s such a beautiful autumn day here in my little town in Southern Ontario.

The trees – including the Japanese maples shown above – are ablaze with colour.

But on this day, I’m preoccupied and praying for Jamaica, land of my birth, and for all the other Caribbean islands in the path of Hurricane Melissa. A pretty name but deadly, according to all the weather projections.

Melissa has been sitting in wait, gathering strength over the ocean. Like a predatory beast waiting to strike, someone said.

I have family and friends there. And millions of other people whom I also wish I could protect.

I’ve been praying. And doom scrolling, literally.

But comfort/distraction comes from surprising places.

Northumberland 89.7 FM chose this time to rebroadcast an interview I gave about what “home” means to me, along with an excerpt about my childhood home in Jamaica, from my book A Good Home.

To hear the interview and excerpt (read by me) on the Word On The Hills programme, visit:

Wordonthehills.com

And click on Recent Programmes. Mine is the first up.

My thanks to the hosts, Felicity Sidnell Reid and Gwynn Scheltema. Your timing is remarkable.

Cynthia.

Hi Friends:

Ever noticed how certain words become ubiquitous at certain times?

Like the word ‘ubiquitous’ did a couple decades or so ago. Until then, very few people went around saying “ubiquitous”, when they could have just said, “It’s everywhere”.

Well, a few weeks ago, two new words made their entrance.

As the US president attacked America’s allies and cozied up to its enemies, the “in word” became “quisling”.

The term comes from Norwegian Vidkun Quisling, whose regime collaborated with the enemy during World War II.

But now the “in word” is Vichy, used to describe a party or government that collaborates with the enemy. Its roots are also in WW2, when a French marshal set up a collaborationist government in Vichy, France.

US Democrats who recently collaborated with the governing Republicans to pass a controversial spending bill were immediately accused of being “Vichy”.

Not “like Vichy “, but simply “Vichy”. And now “Vichy” has become ubiquitous, while “quisling” is losing its shine.

Do tough times bring out “new“ old words? Words that just lay there quietly dozing for decades, only to be shaken awake and pressed into service, over and over?

Or is there, unknown by me, always a hunt for the next new old word to make its discoverer feel special, more in the know? Like the person who discovers a cool new author, TV show or restaurant which her friends haven’t heard of yet.

I have no objection to either explanation. New or old, rare words have a way of expanding not just our vocabulary but our knowledge as well. Here’s to the next one, which, I hope, will be “Vimy”, meaning a courageous battle leading to a victory.

Or maybe that’s just me showing off.

I hope you’re doing well, in spite of what’s happening around us. I’m sharing a small flower bouquet that my granddaughter made one spring, to lift your spirits and mine.

Cynthia.

Hello, Friends:

What a joy to coach memoir writers! You’d think after years of holding memoir writing workshops and seeing my students publish both books and short memoirs, I’d no longer be bowled over by the remarkable stories people bring to this work, and the talents they discover they possessed all along.

But here I am again, jumping with joy right along with them. It’s the best kind of partnership, one which respects what each person brings.

Put simply, the writer brings the story. I bring the tools and techniques the writer needs to craft the story into a book others will want to read. Coaching individuals to tell powerful stories from their lives means sustained one-to-one work. I start where the memoir writer is, and we journey along together as the story takes shape.

As my “coachees” complete their manuscripts, spots open up. Right now, there are 2 openings.

If you’ve ever wanted to write your memoir, or a non-fiction narrative that combines your personal and professional experience (2 of my writers are doing exactly that right now), do contact me, please.

My best wishes to you on all you do.

Cynthia.