Kristine E. Brickey

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34647324-ghost-boys Ghost Boys by   Jewell Parker Rhodes                                                        Wow! This book has been on my 'to be read' list for a while, and last night I picked it up and read the first few chapters before going to sleep. As soon as I woke, the book was back in my hands. It had to be read.      Rhodes has done an outstanding job of combining current social injustices with the historical importance of Emmett Till's story (and the story of so many other murdered 'ghost boys'). Though I am familiar with the horror of Till's murder in 1955 Mississippi, the power of connecting Jerome's new ghost with hundreds of murdered ghost boys, the daughter of the officer, and his living relatives brought it all to new heights.       T...

     Yesterday my alarm beeped at 6:45 a.m. Groggily, I made my way into the kitchen, sleepily turned the coffee maker on, and looked out across the misty morning. It took that long for it to hit me. It was the first day of the new school year. My grin spread wide across my no longer sleepy face. Energy rushed through me. Yes, I was awake, but an hour later than 'normal' for this day. I was up in order to meet a friend out at Brighton State Recreational to ride my awesome horse through the early temps and still freshly spider webbed trails of Michigan.      All I heard last spring were the warnings of people of how I would be so sad when this day came. As I poured my coffee and made my way to the front porch, I enjoyed my leisurely coffee breakfast as cars on the way to work and buses on the way to Mason Public Schools roared past. I felt like the Grinch must have after he saved the sled overflowing with Whoville's Christmas.      After a b...

What a beautiful and amazing summer is has been for me. One of my retirement objectives, hosting and facilitating writing retreats, has begun a year earlier than expected! From August 6-8, I was lucky enough to write with a group at Bay Pointe Inn on the beautiful Gun Lake in Shelbyville, Michigan. Our group filled the Boathouse and a few extra rooms as well, did some writing and sharing together, had hours of small group and individual writing time, and took full advantage of the beauteous location. Here are a few selections from that event that some of the writers were gracious enough to share with me to share with my readers.  Enjoy! From Kristin Kochheiser, a Grief poem: Grief Grief greets me like an unexpected visitor who should have called before knocking at the door breaking into my day, my routine with its quick, incessant knocking on my heart. Just when I think I have seen the last of my unanticipated guest a voice, a smell, a taste, a touch, a picture...