With all we have to be thankful for—the music of returning birds, the colorful trees in bloom—it’s impossible to ignore the events that transfix us on the world stage. It has been a month since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a month that reawakened memories of wars past; a month that reminded us that the relative calm since the fall of the USSR has been an aberration in human history.
I will never forget the underside of my fifth-grade desk and the absurdity of sheltering there during 1960s air raid drills. For Cold War kids, the war in Ukraine and the repeated Russian threats to use nuclear weapons have special resonance.
The psychopathology of Russia proclaiming Ukraine as its loved and lost territory even while it bombs Ukranian cities is gaslighting on a horribly grand scale. It echoes an American major during the Vietnam War who famously said, “It became necessary to destroy the town to save it.” As Thomas Friedman pointed out in an opinion piece in the New York Times, the official Russian line of saving Ukraine from a corrupt government versus the reality of targeting civilians is the modus operandi of a spurned and abusive lover.
As a fifth grader I knew there was no point in hiding under our desks. And equally, now, there’s no point in being incapacitated by fear. I love what the author C.S. Lewis wrote about this dilemma back in the Cold War days:
If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies but they need not dominate our minds.
What we can do about Ukraine—donating to help refugees, keeping ourselves informed—these are important things. And there is more. In a 1999 article in The Nation, John Tirman explained how anti-nuclear activism paved the way for disarmament both in the United States and the USSR. In the quarter century since then, many of us have ignored Putin’s war buildup and the decay of nuclear treaties. So many important challenges lay claim to our energies, including climate change, the pandemic, and the triumph of an incredible Supreme Court nominee over hooligans in the Senate. Yet clearly it is time to reinvigorate the anti-nuke cause. There will always be thugs, and the cure to a thug with his finger on the button is to get rid of the button.
It is just as important to live our lives, to keep reading good books and keep writing them. To let the people we love know that we love them in ways big and small. As C.S. Lewis says, let us do sensible and human things. I hope you are engaged in projects that hold meaning for you, in spite of the news. I would love to hear what you are doing. If you have a writing project in the works, please let me know about it. And I am always glad to hear from women who would like to write a guest blog or be interviewed about their newest book. I’m in the process of writing a workbook with psychologist Steeviejane Parks for women in transition to life after midlife, and I am interested in suggestions for the Resource section. What blogs, podcasts and books do you find helpful as you navigate this stage? Please send your suggestions to stella@stellafosse.com. Connecting the dots and building community is essential as we push back on the nexus of ageism and sexism.
In that spirit of community, I wanted to share my experience with a writing contest that apparently is a scam. As independent authors seek to elevate our work amidst the flood of self-published books, it is understandable we would turn to contests and perhaps inevitable that some would strive to take advantage. This month I sent money that could have gone to refugees to a contest for self-published novels. The next day I discovered an organization that evaluates contests aimed at independent writers and evaluates them on five criteria: reasonable fees, selective awards, transparent criteria, prizes commensurate with fees collected, and award winners retain rights to their work. Based on those criteria, I knew even before seeing the rating of the particular contest I entered that it was a shell game. I’ve learned an important lesson. I make this embarrassing confession in the hopes that other writers will choose better without having to learn the hard way.
But of course, there are completely legitimate contests well worthy of participation. I’m just finishing a total rewrite of the screenplay version of my novel, Brilliant Charming Bastard, which I will submit to The Writers’ Lab by the time you read this. The Writers’ Lab sponsors a week-long retreat for women over forty who are provided with script coaching and contacts in the industry. I’m excited about the new draft and am still learning so much about screenplay as a medium for expression.
William Blake wrote, “Joy and pain are woven fine.” It’s one of my favorite quotes because time and again, death and life are interwoven with love, creativity, critical thought, activism, and the beautiful changing seasons. I’m wishing you well in every field of endeavor and hope to hear from you about your writing journey. We are all on the same path, walking each other home.
With best wishes,
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