Movie Review: Safe Haven

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

Each year, I look forward to seeing at least one Nicholas Sparks movie. It’s that light-hearted entertainment filled with commitment-shy lovers trying to hide dark, unhappy pasts.

Safe Haven is no exception.

The movie opens with a violent episode. A blood-splattered brunette is running down a dark Boston street.

Abuse. Murder. These are the thoughts that immediately come to mind as we watch an obsessed detective ( David Lyons) launch a nation-wide man-hunt for her.

The scene changes abruptly when a blonde haired Katie (Julianne Hough) finds herself in the quiet seaside town of Southport, North Carolina. There, she decides to seek refuge and reinvent herself.

Content with working at a waterside cafe and redecorating her secluded cabin, Katie resists the overtures of her persistent neighbour Jo (Cobie Smulders) and Alex (Josh Duhamel), a single dad who runs the local grocery mart with the help of his children.

The romance heats up as the town prepares for the July 4 festivities and fireworks.

While parts of the movie are predictable, there is a surprise twist at the end.

Inspired by Sue Johnston

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

Facts tell—stories sell.

That’s only one of the many nuggets delivered by Communication Coach Sue Johnston at yesterday’s GWIN (Guelph Women in Networking) meeting.

During a lively interactive session, she guided us through the Three Ps—Purpose, People, Point—needed to craft an effective and memorable 60-second introduction. Working through her double-sided handout, I quickly discovered several holes in my own pitch for Between Land and Sea. While I wasn’t ready to share my personal introduction, I was impressed by the women who stood up and spoke eloquently and passionately about their businesses.

Throughout the presentation, Sue stressed the following points:

Keep it simple—three points maximum.

Make it about the audience.

Invite action and make it easy for the audience to take it.

A seasoned speaker, Sue Johnston delights in helping people find their voices and tell their stories.

Quotable Quote…

Men will want to hear a story if you use a metaphor they will understand.

Contest Time

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

Yesterday evening, Toastmasters from three area clubs—Agvantage, Town and Gown, Co-operators—met for the Area 66 Evaluation and International Speech Contests.

Speech contests are a Toastmaster tradition. Each year, thousands of Toastmasters worldwide compete in the Humorous, Evaluation, Table Topics and International Speech contests. Competition begins at the club level and winners progress through the area, division and district levels. The international competition has two additional levels—semi-final and international.

Exciting. Nerve Wracking. Challenging. Nail Biting.

The tension in the room was palpable as we listened to nine contestants throughout the evening. Each speaker brought a different energy to the room. The audience responded favorably to speeches about nicknames, world citizenship, Olympic mittens, lactose intolerance and the road to publication. And we listened attentively to well-delivered evaluations by new and seasoned toastmasters.

Blake Kurisko won the Evaluation Contest and I won the International Speech Contest.

Special thanks to our host, Cooperators TM, for staging a well-organized contest. We appreciate the contributions of contest chair Glen Oxford, Chief Judge Eric Maginnnis, Division W Governor Moustapha Oke, and Area 66 Governor Mark Hofstee.

Oprah and Dr. Robin Smith

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

She was on top of the world. Psychologist. Bestselling author. Ordained minister. Thirty-five appearances on the Oprah show.

And then life happened to Dr. Robin Smith.

She was in a serious car accident. Her home was flooded and later burglarized. Her beloved pet died. She lost her money.

She lost her way.

Yesterday, Dr. Smith sat down with Oprah on Super Soul Sunday to share her experiences and reveal how she found light after the darkest of days.

In a very moving hour, Dr. Smith described the hunger or “emotional anorexia” that permeated most of her life. This state occurs whenever people call themselves full while living off the crumbs of life.

Throughout the telecast, Oprah and Dr. Smith referred to the following quote from C.S. Lewis:

Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pain. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.

At first, Dr. Smith wondered why God had to get so loud, but eventually realized that a megaphone was needed to rouse a dying Robin. The universe did not want her to settle for emotional crumbs and call it a meal.

While healing, Dr. Smith started writing her book, Hunger: The Truth About Being Full. The experience was a cathartic one that helped her reclaim parts of herself. She was only able to release the book once she was shackle-free.

Quotable Quotes…

Universe is on time and on point, every moment.

The soul is an unshackled core of energy and light that mirrors back its own beauty.

It only takes two, God and I are enough!

Adulthood is here to address the unfinished business of childhood.

Freedom is being who you are, unapologetically.

Put your vulnerability in the light and it will be embraced and feel warm.

Be quiet enough to hear God’s voice so you can find your own. (Dr. Smith’s parents)

My Take on Boomer Lit

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

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We’re the young generation,
And we’ve gt something to say.

Almost five decades have passed since I first heard those catchy lyrics from The Monkees. At age fifty-eight, the song continues to resonate with me.

I’ve still got something to say.

And so do seventy-eight million other baby boomers around the world.

We are fueling a growing demand for a different kind of literature, aptly called boomer lit. While it is entertaining to read about young vampires and twenty-something women wrestling with relationship and workplace issues, we want our own heroes who are not afraid to change the standard romantic and literary formulas.

Age-appropriate. Nostalgic. Finding meaning in the golden years. Or to quote LuAnn Schindler…

Move over, chick. It’s time for the hen to strut her stuff.

I started to seriously “strut” my literary stuff five years ago. After retiring from a thirty-one-year teaching career, I decided to devote my second act to writing. Excited about my first novel, I anxiously awaited input from a visiting screenwriter. That conversation is still etched in memory:

Writer: “You’ve got an interesting storyline here. And I like how you’ve developed the main female characters. But…

Me: Spill it. I can take it.

Writer: Most of the characters are over fifty. You need to bring in a couple of young’uns. Create a sub-plot with the protagonist’s niece and introduce a love interest for her.

Me: What do you mean by young’uns?

Writer: Characters in their twenties and early thirties. That’s what selling now.

Since then, I have encountered different versions of this conversation whenever I participate in writing workshops and seminars. Several instructors urged me to downplay the “boomer” elements in my books.

“Don’t mention anything about age in your query letter.”

“It’s okay to have an older woman as a sleuth. She’ll be invisible and that works well for sleuths. But make sure you surround her with younger characters.”

“Stay away from retirement homes, senior homes, and nursing homes. Don’t dwell on all that negative stuff. Too depressing.”

Hmm

Thankfully, the writers and producers of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Quartet, The Intouchables and Downtown Abbey did not consider such misguided advice. I can’t even imagine creating younger characters to replace Maggie Smith, Dame Judy Dench, Bill Nighy or Francois Cluzet in any of their outstanding roles.

I am equally impressed by Jeanne Ray, Lynda Rutledge, Debra Goldstein and other writers who have launched spectacular second acts. Inspired by their stories, I have continued to use boomers and their older siblings as protagonists in my novels and short stories. My determination and efforts are finally paying off. In the fall of 2013, Soul Mate Publishing will release my debut novel, Between Land and Sea.

Any other boomer lit success stories out there? I would love to feature you on this blog.

Related Articles…

Are You Ready For Boomer Lit? Laurie Boris

Boomer Lit: Romancing the Middle-Aged Reader by LuAnn Schindler

How I Reinvented Myself at 60 by Jeanne Ray

Oprah and Don Miguel Ruiz

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

It was definitely the book that could.

The slim volume written by an unknown writer and picked up by a small publisher has sold more than 1.5 million copies since 1997.

Yesterday, Don Miguel Ruiz joined Oprah on Super Soul Sunday to talk about the extraordinary message of hope and inspiration contained in The Four Agreements.

Born into a family of shamans and teachers, Ruiz originally rejected the ancient Toltec traditions and went to medical school. In his final year, he was in a car accident from which he emerged physically unscathed, but emotionally transformed. He left the medical arena and decided to focus on the psychological aspects of illness and suffering.

Ruiz believes that most of the drama and suffering in our lives is self-created. If we can find inner silence and control our thoughts, we can become happier, regardless of our external circumstances.

In his own life, Ruiz faced a major health challenge at age 49. He woke up one morning with a heart attack and ended up in a coma for nine weeks. He then lived in pain for almost nine years, his heart functioning at only 16 percent. Excited about dying, Ruiz was determined to show people the best way to let go of the physical body. In 2010, he received a heart transplant.

Oprah and Don Miguel Ruiz spent the hour peeling back the layers of the The Four Agreements:

Be impeccable with your word.

Don’t take anything personally.

Don’t make assumptions.

Always do your best.

So many wonderful insights from Don Miguel Ruiz…

Every single cell of our body is a universe.

Humans are the only animals on earth that pay thousands of times for the same mistake.

We are really secondary characters in everyone else’s story.

You are not responsible for what other people understand.

Happiness can only come from within.

Drama occurs when we make assumptions and take things personally.

The first three agreements exist only in imagination.

If we don’t take action, ideas will dissipate.

Stand in your own light and centered in your joy.

Fourth agreement….takes pressure off when you know you’ve done your best.

Religion is just a consequence of the spirit.

You are alive…so take your life and enjoy it.

Movie Review: Robot and Frank

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

The robot or the memory centre.

Retired cat burglar (Frank Lagella) can no longer hide his forgetfulness. So, he grudgingly accepts the humanoid robot provided by his son (James Marsden). After a short period of adjustment, Frank starts appreciating the calm, infinitely patient helper who cooks healthy meals, cleans his house and accompanies him to his favorite haunts.

Frank becomes even more animated when he discovers that the robot’s skill set also includes petty theft. Ignoring the robot’s suggestions to take up gardening or hiking, Frank plans several heists and makes the robot his partner in crime.

The supporting cast includes Liv Tyler (Frank’s free-spirited daughter) and Susan Sarandon who plays the librarian with a soft spot for the aging septuagenarian.

Set in the near future, Frank and Robot provides us with glimpses of sleeker telephones and cars along with technocrats intent on replacing books with digital archives. Unfortunately, there’s still no cure for Alzheimer’s Disease.

Oprah and Panache Desai

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

It’s always exciting when Oprah introduces a new spiritual leader to the world. On yesterday’s Super Soul Sunday, I could feel her excitement throughout the hour-long telecast with Panache Desai.

Born and raised in London, Panache possessed, from an early age, an innate kindness and love that allowed him to connect with others on a spiritual level. During his final year at university, he left his life behind and went on a six month intense retreat. Afterward, he decided to move to the United States and connect with other spiritual teachers and leaders.

In 2003, he had a profound and life-changing experience that allowed him to see the infinite potential in everyone. Along with this experience, he acquired an ability to help people move through negative emotions and realize that infinite potential.

He does not consider himself a guru but an “old friend” sent to remind us of how brilliant and magnificent we really are. He urges us to change our energy instead of changing our thoughts, keeping in mind that we attract people with the same energy. We will encounter problems when we are not true to ourselves and move away from our soul signatures.

When asked about handling difficulties, he advises us to recognize that what is happening is not punishment but opportunity. When we embrace and accept the difficulty, it is a pivotal moment in our development.

Articulate and engaging throughout the interview, he was surprisingly silent when asked to define God. Later, he admitted that there is no definition of God.

Quotable Quotes…

We’re not broken. We don’t need fixing.

Emotions are energies in motion.

We have judged ourselves out of our magnificence.

We can only ever be who we are and, at some point, that has to be good enough.

It’s all dairy. It’s just different flavors of ice cream.

Our humanity is the doorway to the divine.

Life is happening for us not to us.