Love It & List It (№6) The Memoirist Edition

Welcome back, readers, to this week’s Love It & List It (LILI), where I review some of my favorite recent Medium reads.

This week, I am changing it up a bit — highlighting pieces from the same publication — KiKi Walter’s new project: The Memoirist.

The about page reads:

We publish memoirs, humor essays, and fictional memoirs. Creative stories unpacked from the nostalgic hope chests of our lives.

This writing style is one of my favorites to read and write — so I requested to be added as a writer.

I try to be an active reader for any publication that accepts me as a writer, so I headed over to the main page for The Memoirist.

Writers were diverse — some newbies, some veterans — voices from all walks of life, but repeatedly, I was blown away by the quality of the writing. Rich memoir-style stories filled the main page.

I wanted to dedicate this edition of LILI to this new publication because:

🅰Walter is still accepting new writers for the pub (see link below).

🅱The richness of the writing commanded my attention, and I know you will find some new voices to read, follow, and love!

So without further delay, let’s dive in and enjoy!

Rebecca Matthews “Breaking a Legacy”

First up is a powerful reflection from a new Medium writer Rebecca Matthews.

In “Breaking a Legacy,” Matthews analyzes a photo of her grandmother “Nellie V.” — a woman she never met, as she died at 42 — when Matthew’s mother was “16.”

She digs deep and analyzes the body language of her grandmother, standing next to her husband, Edward. The writer notes her mother’s description of Edward as “mean” code-speak for “abusive.”

As the piece progresses, the photo serves as a lens through which Matthews discusses her journey through two abusive relationships. The kinship of the body language she experiences via the picture but even with strangers, noting:

I recognize subtle body language and can pinpoint abuse in perfect strangers. Some later ask: How did you know? I answer: Because I have been where you are. I know what it looks like, what it feels like, and the extent you will go to put on a good face for the world.

Read this powerful reflection, in full, here:

Alex Frederickson “When They Were Young”

This next piece, “When They Were Young,” is also a reflection prompted by a photograph.

Writer Alex Frederickson, searching for a photo of her grandparents, discovers a set of pictures of her parents, pre-marriage.

As she looks at the image of her mother, she realizes:

I’ve seen this photo a hundred times or more and yet suddenly I feel like I’m seeing the young blonde with the shy smile for the very first time. I run my fingers over her face and blink away unexpected tears.

Similar emotions crop up as she surveys her father’s picture.

Frederickson ponders a range of questions about her parents and who they were before they knew each other — in the time before they even thought of children.

She admits, “These are questions I will never know the answers to, questions I can no longer ask of anyone who might know. They are all gone now.”

I found this piece a powerful reminder of the complicated nature of our parents — as children, it is difficult to separate them from who they are to us and remember that they once were and always will be individuals.

Read the rest of this beautiful piece here:

Yvonne Borgquist “Memories of Eating Christmas Cookies”

If anything sparks rich memories, it is the holiday season and all that it entails. Writer Yvonne Borgquist dives into a pool of sensory detail and recalls fond memories of her mother’s baking in “Memories of Eating Christmas Cookies.”

From “shortbread” to “thumb-print,” she remembers, “…eagerly…taste-testing each homemade creation.”

Borgquist counters the child-like joy of cookie eating with the grown-up “pang of guilt,” concerned by “cholesterol” and “saturated fat.”

When her mother offers cookies, the writer first feels the “pang,” but quickly recognizes:

The fact that my mom can continue her Christmas tradition is a gift in itself. This supplies my soul with emotional nourishment.

Take a walk down holiday memory lane with this piece:

Sam Branstner “Caramel Sauce for My Soul”

In “Caramel Sauce for My Soul,” writer Sam Branstner revisits his mother’s love of bird-watching and how it was a source of connection for them over the years.

His mother gave him a “feathery education,” instructing him in all things bird. Even when he was a teen and “too cool” to join her — he would still sneak a look as he passed the feeder: “just in case the slippery cardinal had passed by.”

Now grown and living without his mother — Branstner keeps the tradition alive:

The spirit of my mother is present as I teach my own children — grandchildren she never got to meet — everything I’ve ever learned about crows, blue jays, and dark-eyed juncos.

Read these beautiful memories here:

Laura Lind “Waiting in the Wings”

As a former English teacher, this story brought a smile to my face. Writer (and teacher) Laura Lind gives a voice to often-overlooked students in her “Waiting in the Wings.”

She reflects on her experience as a quiet student — watching as time, and again “outgoing” students were selected to read parts in plays over her.

She recalls, “I believed I was…typecast in my school career as a stereotypical shrinking violet which was never allowed to bloom.”

Lind admits she was an introvert but still wanted the chance to display her love of theater — as she, privately, “read plays aloud into a tape recorder.”

Now a teacher, Lind is careful to make space for all students, sharing:

I see the potential for children to be typecast like I was, even at their young ages. When a child declines my offers to give an idea or sing into the microphone on the karaoke machine, I offer again the next time. And the next time.

Read the entire piece here:

Thank you for joining me for this special Memoirist edition of Love It & List It. I hope you not only found some fantastic writers to enjoy but also a new publication to follow (or write for).

Until next time, write, read, clap, comment, and share as we work together to build a Medium where all writers can grow and thrive.

Read past editions of LILI here:

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📖&💓 more by Heather Martin
"Remember the Beauty of Imperfection" 
"The Time Before The Time"  
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The above writing is ©Heather Martin 2021