The Good Lie Releases to Blu-Ray and DVD on December 23

It's my good fortune to have been asked by Grace Hill Media to do a give-away (details of how to enter the drawing to win in Monday's post) in celebration of the release of The Good Lie on Blu-Ray and DVD. 

The movie tells the true-life story of the Lost Boys of Sudan, their lives torn apart by civil war, left to grow up in refugee camps, then given the opportunity through the efforts of church groups and other charities to embark on new lives in the U.S. It stars Oscar-winner Reese Witherspoon and some actual former Lost Boys in pivotal roles. 

When it was released in theaters in October, reviewers described it with words like “terrific,” “uplifting,” “moving,” “life-changing,” “unforgettable” “brilliant,” “entertaining” and “joyful.” Perhaps even more impressive, though, is that audiences polled by Cinemascore, the industry standard for gauging filmgoer opinions, rated THE GOOD LIE an “A+” – just the 53rd movie in the last 30 years to receive that honor.  

THE GOOD LIE

ARRIVES ONTO BLU-RAY & DVD COMBO PACK and DIGITAL HD ON DECEMBER 23 FROM

WARNER BROS. HOME ENTERTAINMENT 

Here’s a special video feature about the real-life stories behind the film, complete with interviews from Reese Witherspoon, Producer Ron Howard and the Lost Boys in the cast:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhGPaX3MXfE

Under Water

The good news is I've received a lot of article assignments in the last three months. In the freelance writing business, developing a career to the point at which one has a regular, stable pay day is the pinnacle of success. 

The bad news is I'm under water breathing through a straw. And praying that a bug doesn't light upon the tip of my straw and plug my airway.

The worse news is that through the years of pecking away at my keyboard and chopping away at building my portfolio, I internalized the mantra "Never Say No."

"No" knows no adventure, no pounding heartbeat and sweaty palms, no sense of accomplishment against the odds. I don't believe in saying no.

But I think it would be better if I maintained a neutral stance now and again, maybe said nothing at all.

I just sucked in a chestful of air through my narrow straw and said YES again. Neutrality doesn't come natural to me.

All this to apologize for failing to post regularly in the last weeks. I will do better. YES, I will.

Blythe Lipman's Baby and Toddler Show Podcasts

Last Wednesday I was the guest on Blythe Lipman's Baby and Toddler Show for parents. You can listen to podcasts of the entire interview here:

http://bit.ly/1wxbZWl   (Toginet site for people that don't have Itunes)

http://bit.ly/X4QyYI   (Itunes)

Hear stories about embarrassing moments, dinner time catastrophes and the Halloween costume to which I nearly lost my life when I was seven. You'll also find out why my parents moved to a house without a garage when I was 18.

I'm Blythe Lipman's Guest on Wednesday!

On October 22, join me as I talk books and babies with Blythe Lipman:

Baby and Toddler Instructions with Blythe Lipman

Speaking Spanglish

I've been using a translation service to translate my recently released children's book, Dog on the Run, from English to Spanish. It's a silly book about a dog and what happens when a ball lands in his yard. The repetition, paired with surprise, appeals to young children.

Since I don't speak Spanish, I have also been using a translating service to translate the Spanish back to English, to ensure that the translation is accurate. The book is less than 30 pages with 2 to 10 words on each page, so I did not expect the process to be long or complicated.

And in fact, the Spanish version of the book is more simple than the English version. It's also much shorter. It reads thus:


This is dog.  
Dog is executed.

 My initial instinct is that this is not as appealing as the original text. Could this be the end of aspirations for the Spanish version of Dog on the Run?

Narrow is the Road

My life, winnowed down to this one existence, panics me some days. Of all the possibilities, life narrowed to this: Wife and mother living in a small rural town working as a freelance writer. Someone in some faraway place occasionally wonders what it must be like to live a romantic, adventurous life like this. She uses her imagination to place herself in my chair.

Meanwhile, across the sea from her, another person sneers at the unoriginal outcome of the choices I’ve made. She wonders why anyone would settle for the commonplace. 

Different genes, different decisions and my life may have thundered along another track. As it is, whittled to this singular experience, I will never wear a high-powered business suit to a job in the New York City financial district. I’ll never join a circus and fly through the air with the greatest of ease. I’ll never herd sheep in Patagonia, sail around Cape Horn, deal in fine art, live on the edge of a desert, paint portraits of royalty, map uninhabitable jungles, or absorb myself completely in any reality other than the one in which I find myself.

What near misses have happened to deliver me to this chair in front of this keyboard with these birds singing in the background! One chance encounter could have altered the outcome. One snap judgment could have changed the course. One wrong turn could have dead-ended or branched or circled back. 

I wonder if Geraldine and Tyler Latham of Guymon, Oklahoma ever think this way. They’ve been married 65 years. Born on the same day delivered by the same doctor in the same town, they have never not known each other. The place where they came into the world will likely be the place where they go out of the world. 

Have they ever questioned what might have been had one or the other of them started on the dusty road leading west and got going with too much momentum to stop? What an indulgence to ponder such things!

Good Fortune of Working from Home

My sister, who teaches at a major research institution I shall not name, received an administratively generated email yesterday afternoon. Its contents included the following: 

· The student in the advisory sent earlier this afternoon about the off-campus incident admitted to investigators that the incident she described did not occur. The investigation into this case has been closed.

· The fire alarm in Presidential Village was due to sensor that was activated by a non-fire event.

· There was no machete with a note on the door of a fraternity.

· No shots were fired at Presidential Village.

· The FBI is not on campus, and did not conduct a raid in Paty Hall.

· No one dressed as the Joker was in Tutwiler or on sorority row.

· There was not a man on sorority row with a box tied to him in a threatening manner.

· No one was shot and no one has been arrested.

· No students were choked on the Quad or anywhere else.

I cannot imagine working in a place where nothing happens, though the attempts by co-workers to tie boxes to themselves in threatening manners has probably been entertaining. 

A later communique advised, "I know you do so in every class, but please wrap your arms around all our students today." The vacuum of activity will soon be replaced by sexual harassment lawsuits.

I am so fortunate to work from home.