On Monday night my new monthly salon for life story writers convened for the first time. Such stories! I’ll be asking those who read from their memoirs to allow me to publish their essays on “True Stories Well Told” so those of you who can’t attend in person can still enjoy these essays.

Some went funny, some went dark–all went deep. We heard musings on acceptance; embarrassment then and now (teenage vs. senior citizen); looking cancer in the eye; finding love and surviving the loss of it; reflections on values and the need for each of us to not only hold ourselves to high standards, but our elected officials as well. (Yes, the current U.S. government shutdown poked its way into our salon.)

I read “Leon Varjian and Me: Class Clowns” but funnier by far was Sara William’s “Ben’s Barber Shop–the story of a mother and her adopted son’s search for racial tolerance and a great haircut. Such true stories, so well told. Thank you Sariah, Carolyn, Leigh, Amy, Kaye, Sara, Mary, and Linda for sharing your writing with us!

If you’re in a 50-mile radius of Madison, don’t miss the next First Monday First Person Salon, November 4th.