Stories from the Writing Journey
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Why I Write Nonfiction – Real Life Stories of Connection
by Joanie Schirm on January 4, 2017 PermalinkAs I reach my ninth anniversary of the still-feeling-new chapter of my life as an author, once again I receive a reminder of why I love what I do. From the books I write, I find myself a connector of people who are tied in myriad ways to my main character, Oswald “Valdik” Holzer—my dad.
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Voices Needed for Decency – Don’t Stay Silent
by Joanie Schirm on December 19, 2016 PermalinkVoices Needed for Decency and Peace—Don’t Stay Silent I was moved today by this excellent Opinion Column in the Orlando Sentinel. Written by Pam Kancher, Executive Director of the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida, her words share a timeless reminder that we each carry a voice that must speak up when we
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Celebrating Human Rights Day – December 10, 2016
by Joanie Schirm on December 8, 2016 PermalinkFor the past sixty-eight years, the world has celebrated the December 10th anniversary of the 1945 United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. With the fresh recognition of what humans can do to one another following the horrific evidence of the Holocaust, the historic UN act promoted the publicizing of
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Freedom for Cuba
by Joanie Schirm on November 27, 2016 PermalinkWith the passing of Fidel Castro, I’m reminded of a time in the early 1960s when my parents offered to house a Cuban refugee family just after their escape from the tyranny of Castro’s regime. In our home in Indialantic came a small, very sad family who spoke little English and wished only to gain
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Adventurers Against Their Will featured in Holocaust Education Book
by Joanie Schirm on October 12, 2016 Permalink‘Literature Can Help Bring Forward Every Aspect of Human Life.’ (from the book: Essentials of Holocaust Education: Fundamental Issues and Approaches) An author’s life is never dull. After almost nine years, I’ve nearly finished my second and third books (My Dear Boy and Steadfast Ink). As they go through final edits, I’ve entered the stage
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I Love Book Clubs
by Joanie Schirm on March 21, 2016 PermalinkI LOVE BOOK CLUBS As a non-fiction author, it’s particularly meaningful when you have a chance to connect live with readers who’ve had the experience to “meet” your real life characters. This opportunity recently happened for me when I got an email invitation to attend a long standing book club who’d read Adventurers Against Their
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Sixty-eight years hence. Never forget.
by Joanie Schirm on February 28, 2016 PermalinkSixty-eight years ago, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia seized power in a violent coup. At the time just after WWII, my parents were living in Long Island, NY in the hamlet of Sayville. Before the coup, they’d considered moving back to my dad’s Czech homeland where he wished to practice medicine. His interest in returning
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Ready to Meet the World: My Dear Boy – 400 WWII letters. 78 writers. 1 remarkable secret.
by Joanie Schirm on February 24, 2016 PermalinkReady to meet the world: My Dear Boy – 400 WWII letters. 78 writers. 1 Remarkable Secret. To all who have tagged along on my seven-year writing journey—this is a big day! I proclaim the My Dear Boy 81,000-word Memoir complete. Now all I need is a good literary agent to open the locked door