Author Archives: Joanne Guidoccio

Movie Review: Sparkle

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I agree with USA Today reporter Claudia Puig’s review: “Sparkle is a fitting curtain call for Houston.”

It was one of the main reasons I decided to watch this film. A long-time fan of Whitney Houston, I was shocked and saddened by her death in February of this year. While she didn’t sing until near the end of the film, her voice and choice of lyrics—the gospel hymn, “His Eye is on the Sparrow”—was extremely moving.

Unfortunately, the rest of the film did not deliver.

A remake of the 1976 film starring Irene Cara, the film focuses on big-dreamer Sparkle (Jordin Sparks) and her two sisters (Carmen Ejogo and Tika Sempter). After Stix (Derek Luke) falls for Sparkle and her impressive song-writing talent, he persuades her to form an all-girl group with her sisters. Houston plays the part of Emma, the girls’ overbearing mother, who turned toward the church after experiencing her own challenges in the music industry.

While I enjoyed listening to former American Idol champion Jordin Sparks sing, I was not impressed by her acting ability. Damaged and vulnerable Sister (Ejogo) is the real showstopper as she takes center stage in her micro minis and provocative moves. Offstage, she scrambles for her next fix and deals with an abusive husband.



Oprah and Elie Wiesel

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

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Holocaust survivor. Political activist. Nobel Laureate. Best-selling author of 57 books. In spite of this outstanding roster of achievements, Elie Wiesel still asks himself: What have I done? Is it enough?

Yesterday on Super Soul Sunday, he sat down with Oprah to talk about his recent open heart surgery and his riveting new memoir, Open Heart, a love poem to his wife, Marion, and his grandchildren.

Throughout the hour-long telecast, the octogenarian spoke of the grace and cruelty he has experienced throughout his life. While at Auschwitz, he found it difficult to understand God’s silence and the world’s silence. At age thirty, he broke his own silence and wrote “Night” the bestseller that was translated into thirty languages and sold to millions around the world. Later, he and his wife began the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity.

In recent years, he experienced the loss of his entire life savings and $15 million of the foundation’s money because of Bernie Madoff. When he received the news, he turned to his wife and said, “We have seen worse.” The financial loss did not make him pessimistic or desperate. Instead, he spoke in glowing terms about the hundreds of Americans who sent small donations to the foundation afterward.

I was moved by his comparison of Alzheimer’s disease to a book. Each day, a page is torn out until all that remains are the covers of the book.

Oprah described the interview as a prayer and was deeply moved by his takeaway for all of us:

Whatever you do in life, think higher and feel deeper.

So many wonderful quotes…I’m putting Open Heart on my 2013 reading list.

• Every second counts and every moment matters.

• Hadn’t I lived with death, even in death?

• Illness may diminish me, but it won’t destroy me.

• Life is not a fist. Life is an open hand waiting for some other hand to enter it.

• Indifference enables everything which is bad for life.

• I define myself more by my questions than by my answers.

• To listen to a witness is to become a witness.

• Every moment is a new beginning. Every handshake a promise.

• If life is not an offering to the other, what are we doing on this earth?

Great Idea! But is it a book?

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

editing1While browsing on the Storywell website,the title of this workshop caught my attention.

So, I decided to drive out to The Button Factory in Waterloo to hear freelance editor and publishing consultant Nicole Langlois discuss non-fiction publishing in Canada.

As former managing editor at Harper Collins, Nicole is very knowledgeable about how publishing decisions are made. She discussed different books in Quill and Quire and went through the Big Four questions that all publishers consider…

1. Does this project have a self-selecting book-buying audience and who makes up that audience? (Focus on measurable groups who are interested in your topic; use facts and figures wherever possible.)

2. What will this book say of significance to those within this audience? (It’s the Aquarius Factor—uniqueness—that separates you from an almost always crowded marketplace.)

3. Will this audience, once made aware of this book, go out and buy it? (An especially good question if women aren’t part of your target audience.)

4. Is this the right author and the right time to publish this book? (It’s all about platform.)

Nicole stressed the importance of building an author platform and the essential elements of all non-fiction proposals. She referred to Mike Nappa’s book, 77 Reasons Why Your Book Was Rejected, and Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction by Susan Rainer and Alfred Fortunato throughout the workshop.

Food for thought…

Publishing contracts are based on the number of books sold in the first year. Can you sell 5000 copies in that time?

Negative stories are hard to sell.

The best time to start promoting your book is three years before it comes out. (Seth Godin)

Blurbs are the life blood of the publishing industry.

Find the editor who is sympathetic to your voice.

Work hard… Hope for a lucky break…Enjoy the process!


Life, with Cancer: The Lauren Terrazzano Story

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

lauren2Journalist Lauren Terrazzano had two life goals: win a Pulitzer Prize and write a book.

In 1996, the fearless young journalist shared the Pulitzer Prize with her team at Newsday for their coverage of the TWA Flight 800 crash. Unfortunately, she was not able to achieve her second goal. At age thirty-nine, Lauren’s life was cut short by lung cancer just three years after her diagnosis.

But that dream did not die with Lauren.

Her father, Frank Terrazzano picked up the torch and, with the help of co-author Paul Lonardo, wrote Life, with Cancer: The Lauren Terrazzano Story. In writing this book, Terrazzano wanted to honor his daughter’s memory as a dedicated and well-respected social journalist who was a voice for the voiceless.

So many wonderful examples of Lauren’s investigative reporting….

When she reported on the lack of adequate security at New York nursing homes, new legislation was introduced and she received a commendation from Governor George Pataki.

While her cancer was in remission, she accompanied four young men on a helicopter mission to hurricane ravaged parts of Guatemala. She reported her experiences in an article that was widely syndicated in the United States.

In the fall of 2006, the cancer returned, but Lauren decided to fight it with words. After receiving a weekly column entitled, Life, with Cancer, she shared her experiences in the hope erasing the stigma associated with lung cancer. She wrote with humor when she discussed “the dumb things people say to those who are ill” and with anger as she wrote about the complicity of tobacco companies.

In a recent interview, Lonardo admitted he was skeptical at first, but after learning more about Lauren, he realized that “it was her life story—not just her death story” and the book would inspire young female journalists.

A wonderful tribute, filled with sensitivity and love, from a father to his only child.

Movie Review: Ruby Sparks

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

The film opens with 29-year-old Calvin (Paul Dano) struggling to write a second novel after the extraordinary success of his first novel, written at age nineteen. Under pressure from his agent to write a new novel and his brother’s taunts (Chris Messina) about an uncertain future, Calvin meets with his therapist (Elliot Gould) who suggests that he write something, anything.

Calvin starts writing about the beautiful girl (Zoe Kazan) who appears in his dreams. He gives her a name (Ruby Sparks) and shortly afterward, she appears in his kitchen. At first, Calvin thinks he is losing his mind, but is reassured when he discovers that others can see her as well. He introduces her as his girlfriend and even takes her out to visit his hippie mother (Annette Benning) and step-father (Antonio Banderas).

Romantic comedy with a dark twist…That is probably the best description of Ruby Sparks. And while the film does deliver comedic moments as well as more serious relationship scenes, I would personally have preferred more humor. In particular, I enjoyed the scenes with Chris Messina, Annette Benning and Antonio Banderas.



Oprah and Dr. Eben Alexander

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

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On yesterday’s Super Soul Sunday, Oprah sat down with Dr. Eben Alexander to discuss his out-of-the-universe experience.

In November of 2008, the successful neurosurgeon’s luck ran out. In the middle of the night, he woke up with severe back pain that felt like he had been struck by a freight train. Within four hours, bacterial meningitis drove him into a coma that lasted seven days. The prognosis was not a good one. His survival rate was down to 2% and, if he woke up from the coma, the doctors predicted he would need chronic care for the rest of his life.

He defied the odds and when he woke up, calmly told his sister, “All will be well.”

After two months of rehabilitation, Dr. Alexander fully regained his language and memories. At first, he shared his remarkable story only with family, friends and colleagues. Later, he decided to write a scientific report that evolved into the New York Times best-selling book, Proof of Heaven.

Before his near-death experience, Dr. Alexander had been skeptical about God and heaven. In 2000, he experienced a crisis of faith when his birth mother rejected his invitation to meet. That rejection reminded him of a deep and powerful memory of being thrown away at birth. A memory, he claims many adopted children have within the core of their being.

Whenever he heard his patients talk about their own near-death experiences, he assumed there was a logical, brain-based explanation. Afterward, he found himself facing the same skepticism, especially from colleagues who gently reminded him that “his brain was soaking in pus.” Others suggested that the strong medication he was given could have caused vivid dreams and hallucinations. Dr. Alexander countered this argument by reminding people that these drugs work primarily in the neo-cortex, the part of the brain that shut down when he entered the coma state.

I was impressed by his beautiful and vivid descriptions of the other realm…

“I was rescued from the underground by a slow-moving, spinning white light and the most gorgeous melody. As it got closer, it exploded and was a portal into a beautiful, verdant valley.”

“Billowing clouds with different colors”

“Orbs and of light shooting through the sky”

Quotable quotes…

God does not have a face or gender.

We are conscious in spite of our brain.

The boundaries of self are fiction.

It’s a beautiful gift in knowing God, knowing that prayer does work, and just knowing that our lives means so much more.

Death is not an end of anything. It is a transition.

Newborns come in trailing the breath of angels. (Oprah)

Message for all of us…Each and every one of us is deeply loved.

The Headmaster’s Wager

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

At age fifteen, Vincent Lam knew that he wanted to be a writer. And the first book he wanted to write was one inspired by his grandfather, William Lin, a headmaster of an English school in Cholon who “had a taste for gambling, women, the finer things of life.”

Lam started writing The Headmaster’s Wager over a decade ago, but put it aside to finish medical school and complete his award-winning short story collection, Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures.

In a recent interview, Lam claims that The Headmaster’s Wager took ten years of toil. More than 1,000 pages were tossed as he experimented with different points of view: four different narrators, third person, first person and back to third person. He commented, “It would be awfully nice to be more efficient, but I haven’t figured out away to do it yet.

The novel opens in 1966, just as the Vietnam War is escalating. Chen Pie Sou, also known as Percival, is the headmaster of an English academy in Cholon. Determined to play all sides, this Chinese expat businessman negotiates relationships with the Vichy French, Japanese, South Vietnamese, Americans and North Vietnamese forces. Throughout the novel he reiterates the simple Chinese business strategy of remaining indifferent to politics.

When his son, Dai Jai, broadcasts his Chinese patriotism, Percival realizes he cannot keep his son safe in Viet Nam. Using all his connections, he sends Dai Jai to China at the height of the Cultural Revolution. To console himself, Percival turns to gambling and enters a relationship with Jacqueline, a mixed-race Vietnamese-French prostitute. On the eve of the Tet Offensive, Jacqueline bears Pericival a son.

As the fighting in Viet Nam intensifies, Percival tries to protect both sons, but quickly discovers that the rules have changed. He must now risk more than his fortune; he must risk his very life to save his own flesh and blood.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

From the trailer, I gathered there would be a romance between Fred Jones (Ewan McGregor) and the beautiful Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Emily Blunt). And Patricia Maxwell (Kirstin Scott Thomas) would provide comic relief as the over-the-top press secretary to the British prime minister.

But there is more to this movie that combines the screenwriting talents of Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) and the directorial abilities of Lasse Hallström (Chocolat).  The end result is an inspiring movie  about making the impossible possible.

A visionary sheik (Amr Waked) wants to stock the Yemen River with North Atlantic salmon. Desperate for a positive human interest story from the Middle East, Patricia Maxwell sets in motion a chain of events involving Britain’s leading fisheries expert, Fred, and the sheik’s attaché, Harriet.

At first skeptical, Fred admits that the idea is “theoretically possible” and then adds the qualifier: “the way a manned mission to Mars is theoretically possible.” But after meeting the sheik and spending time under the desert sun, Fred becomes enthusiastic about the project. Together, Fred, Harriet and the sheik embark on an upstream journey of faith and fish.

Inspired by Nicole Abouhalka

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I was curious about the elegant soft-spoken woman who sat across from me at the table. While she said very little during the first session of the writing workshop, I sensed that she was working on an amazing life story.

In fact, Nicole Abouhalka had already written several anecdotes, stories and poems in a published collection entitled Oh! Canada.

Nicole did not discover her writing abilities until 1982. While travelling from Lebanon to Cyprus, she wrote poetry to keep awake. After a two-year stop in Montreal, the Abouhalka family moved to Guelph and made a decision to open a Lebanese restaurant.  Nicole took creative writing courses at the University of Guelph and tried her hand at short stories.

Fast forward to 2004…

After undergoing brain surgery , Nicole lost all her capacities. Her sons urged her to write about her experiences since leaving Lebanon. Slowly, Nicole regained most of her coordination and the use of her analytical mind as she wrote this entertaining collection.

Her humor is evident throughout the book, especially when she discusses the diagnosis of meningioma. She asked the neurosurgeon the following questions:

“Could my tumour be due to all the chocolate I ate and am still eating?”

“Could it be the Black Box of my life?”

“Could it be a concentration of all the negative energies that I have been channeling?”

After learning that the tumour was large—120 ml—she asked: “Would I be called an air-head?”

Nicole Abouhalka is now working on a memoir for her grandchildren.

Oprah and Jean Houston

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On yesterday’s Super Soul Sunday, Oprah sat down with  Jean Houston, one of the elders of the personal growth movement. Asked to describe herself, the American scholar, lecturer, author and philosopher came up with the following:   “an evocateur of the possible and midwife of the soul.” Throughout the telecast, she impressed Oprah and all of us with her optimism and insights. I am looking forward to reading her latest book,  The Wizard of Us,  where she interprets the deeper messages within the The Wizard of Oz and leads us along the Hero’s journey that awaits each of us.

While she has met with some of the great citizens of the world, she finds greatness in everyone she meets. In particular, she is ignited by her encounters with young people. She is very optimistic about our world and believes that more people are becoming more conscious.  When asked to define soul, she came up with three definitions: essence of who and what we are, lure of our becoming, and sometimes a pain in the neck.

The seventy-five-year-old Houston does not look her age and attributes her youthfulness to her Sicilian roots. She has never thought too much about the aging process; there’s so much to do and to be. She finds the second half of her life most interesting and believes that her own life started to get really good at age sixty.

Quotable Quotes…

You’re always wearing those red shoes.

I have a passion for the possible.

Guru—Gee, you are YOU!

We are sourced in spirit and we are adequate to the challenge of the times.

If you don’t accept the yearning, you end up dying inside. Joseph Campbell

We are the heroes of our own life’s journey. Joseph Campbell