Category Archives: Sarah’s memoir
The Road or the Scholar
I wrote this piece after Diane Hughes read her “Post Office Truck” story at a meeting of the First Monday, First Person salon earlier this year. How many of my generation were seized by a desire for a life of adventure on the open … Continue reading
Bedside books
On this Thanksgiving morning, I am grateful for books–and the time to read them. Here are the books currently on my nightstand: Two have been there since last winter. One joined the stack after a conversation with a feminist last … Continue reading
Math Teacher’s Sudden Death Shocks Midland Park (Leon Varjian)
When I logged into my blog this morning I discovered remembrances about Leon Varjian piling in. From them I learned that this unique individual, whom I knew in Bloomington in 1974 and again in Madison circa 1980, passed away suddenly this week. … Continue reading
Looking Forward, Looking Back
The second anniversary of my salon for memoir writers, “First Monday, First Person” is coming up on October 5th. The fifth anniversary of True Stories Well Told is coming up at the end of 2015. This has put me in a … Continue reading
Weather or Not (Part 2)
By Sarah White Read Part 1 here… Rising wind. Pelting rain. I remember vividly the sequence of my thoughts at that point. I looked at the delicate wine glass, poised on a little tray-table. I said to myself, “If that … Continue reading
Weather or Not (Part 1)
By Sarah White There was no reason to consult the weather forecast, because it wouldn’t change anything. When my friend Jane plans to camp, she will not be deterred. As her camping buddy, I’ve accepted that once we say we’re … Continue reading
A Prayer for New Orleans
I’ve visited New Orleans like a poor person, like a rich person, and after Hurricane Katrina, like a person for whom money had no meaning. The devastation was not equally distributed, but it impacted us all—even people like me with … Continue reading
Mother Odilia, Jimmy the Baker, and Me
Bread is the staff of life, they say. Bread is where my husband Jim got his start as a baker, before progressing to pastry chef. Bread turned up repeatedly on a recent day, in that way that says, “pay attention.” … Continue reading
Sports and “the Whoosh-Up”: Can We Trust What We Feel?
The “Season of Sports” continues… By Sarah White Laura Bassett flattened on the grass after her left foot got in the way of a ball and sent it into the opposing team’s net in the Women’s World Cup Semifinal, 2015. … Continue reading
True Stories Well Told 
Return from #APH2015
I spent the last week in Sacramento at the Association of Personal Historians‘ annual board meeting and conference. It was a week that looked a lot like this… and like this… and from wherever I happened to be, like this… … Continue reading →