Oh yes, the young and restless – I was 19 and Steve, 24. We met in the Virgin Islands at the Peace Corps training in 1971. I was heading to Liberia and he was on his way to Niger. A brief encounter…well because, I was spoken for – pearled to my high school sweetheart. But…Read more »
Author: susangreisen
Best Peace Corps Memoir – 2020-21 BOOK AWARD
Friday, August 13th was my lucky day. I was camping on the Olympic Peninsula when I drove to access cell phone reception to check the ferry schedule. My first email was a “Hurray!” from one of my sage counsels. Here is what I read: Peace Corps Worldwide has selected In Search of Pink Flamingos as…Read more »
Fulani Woman, Liberian Woman
I am an occasional poet. Unexpectedly, stanzas flow from my brain, to my hand, to the keyboard. I took a poetry class recently that helped me create these two pieces that I want to share with you. Both reflect stories written in my memoir. The first poem of Fulani Woman helped to write the second…Read more »
The Priceless Goatskin Handbag
Why is the value of an object not fully appreciated until its gone? When I returned from my three years in the Peace Corps, I had many artifacts and memorabilia. But with retirement and downsizing in my future, I began to unload some of my treasures that I had kept for almost 50 years. One…Read more »
From Dream to Reality
It’s one thing for your friends, family, and colleagues to like your book. But it is another when the critics/experts select it for an award. I didn’t actually understand what I was applying for in April of 2020, just a few days after my book was published. I thought it was a local reviewing Award…Read more »
Finalist for Memoir Book Award
Malaria, the Killer
News Release 23-Apr-2021 / University of Oxford https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-04/uoo-mvb042221.php Malaria vaccine becomes first to achieve WHO-specified 75% efficacy goal Researchers from the University of Oxford and their partners have today reported findings from a Phase IIb trial of a candidate malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, which demonstrated high-level efficacy of 77% over 12-months of follow-up. When I arrived in…Read more »
Icing on the Cake
April is my month; my birth month. It is always special to me. But this one was extra special. I not only celebrated the big seven zero with a some fanfare, but also was the guest author at another Zoom book club (more about that in my next blog). In addition, this was the month…Read more »
How Will I Know?
My essay, How Will I Know?, was accepted in the Whatcom Reads Anthology of stories and poetry entitled Reconciliation. It was published this week. I will be reading a 3 minute excerpt of the essay on 2/21/21 at my local bookstore, Village Books. This was rewritten from the chapter entitled “Reconciliation” in my memoir, In…Read more »
Zoom Book Club – A Success!
My one-room school teacher, Velma read my book, told her PEO book club members about it, and then procured 12 of my books for her club. On February 10th, 2021 I was invited as the guest author. Kally, Janie and Velma led a robust discussion and Q&A with several of their members living in Arizona.…Read more »