It was my honor this week to meet some pretty inspiring women. I had a wonderful talk/Power Point presentation for 19 women on Wednesday, May, 4, 2022. (PEO–Philanthropic Educational Organization)

These women are inspiring. Their mission is to provide scholarship grants for young women to help them to reach their educational goals.

Here's a photo of a few of these amazing ladies.

(That's me in the middle with the black shirt.)

Notice the MeTime Stones slide in the back. The women each chose a MeTime Stone to help to remind them to take care of themselves too.

        a cuppa!
                              a bubble bath!
                                                                a walk in the park!
                                                                                                            read a chapter
                                                                                                                                                WHATEVER!

                                                       RECHARGE!                      REBOOT!                       REFRESH

   
     Bill Gasiamis, a stroke survivor and the podcast host of A Stroke Caregiver's Journey talked about what it means to be a caregiver. He shared his story with me and I shared mine with him. We talked about being overly stressed and overly busy through the lenses of a caregiver and a survivor. We discussed recovery after brain injury and the complications and joys it brings. We spoke about taking a new fork in the road and accepting a new normal. But most importantly, we agreed that laughter is crucial to a more calm recovery––in fact, it may be the key to happiness after brain injury. So, Folks, start laughing like there's no tomorrow.
                     GiGgLE!
                                        ChOrTLe! 
                                                                sNiCkER!
                                                                                       TeE-hEe!
                                                                                                              HoOT       &       HOwL  ...

                                                                                                                     With LAUGHTER!
PS. You'll LOVE Bill's Down Under Australian accent.

Check out Recovery After Stroke by Bill Gasiamis.

     John Daly, author of action/thriller books and Boutique of Quality Books/WriteLife consultant, interviewed me about my book, Prisoners Without Bars: A Caregiver's Tale. I told John that Prisoners will make readers Laugh! Cry! and G-A-S-P!. How do I know? Because I laughed, cried, and gasped! during the many years it took me to write the story.

     So when you read my book, Prisoners Without Bars: A Caregiver's Tale, and you Laugh! Cry! or G-A-S-P!, please let me know. You can leave a comment below or send an email to me at [email protected].

Of course, when you read my book, please write an honest review. My book and I will each appreciate your efforts.

CLICK Here!
Prisoners Amazon US Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

Prisoners (print) Barnes and Noble Paperback, eBook

Prisoners (print) IndieBound

Prisoners (eBook) Kobo

A review is a book's best friend. "Prisoners Without Bars: A Caregiver's Tale" will make readers Laugh! Cry! and G-A-S-P!

Did you know that a book review doesn't have to be long? You aren't in school anymore. The teacher is not assigning a review of the class chosen book. He/She is not requiring that you write a 1,000 word essay on the book.

Here are a few samples from reviews of my book, "Prisoners Without Bars: A Caregiver's Tale." (Many are only partials. You can go to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or Goodreads to read more than a 100 reviews. "Prisoners Without Bars: A Caregiver's Tale"  Oh, and while you are there, please leave your review, so that other readers can read yours.

A Kindle Customer wrote:

I enjoyed this book because the author was very honest in describing her journey taking care of her husband who had a brain bleed and her life was never the same or his.

An Amazon Customer wrote:

I loved this book. almost couldn't put it down. the love and dedication of the wife is incredible. I have to give her kudos. much like caring for a person with dementia - not easy. highly recommended.

Rinda wrote:

What a story! I was hooked from the preface.

jlgwriter wrote:

This is a deeply moving story about a family's experience with traumatic brain injury. I found the story powerful and compelling,

Bob Millsap wrote:

I recommend this book for anyone that is a caregiver or is close to somebody that is.

Barnes and Noble Reviewer wrote:

Donna writes a very compelling story of her (and her husband David's) 13 years of pain, suffereing, and frustatrations dealing with TBI.

A Rutgers School of Medicine Professor wrote:

The book details the events that occurred when an articulate, vibrant microbiologist at Columbia University suddenly suffers a traumatic brain injury.

Goodreads Reviewer, Kiersten wrote:

Phenomenal story of love, determination and an acceptance of a new life.

Goodreads Reviewer, Connie G. wrote:

Very moving account of how life can change overnight, and the struggles to get the proper care.

Kobo Reviewer wrote:

An amazing story of Love and Hope I could not believe the faith and strength of the author.

THIS SPOT is FOR YOU! Go Ahead. WRITE A REVIEW!

Fragly Can't Croak

by

Donna O'Donnell Figurski


“Croook!” I want to croak like other frogs? thought Fragly.
 
But “Croook!” was all Fragly could say.  
 
“I’ll never be a normal frog,” she thought.
 
While the frogs played in the pond,
 
in reeds,
 
under leaves,
 
Fragly sat alone on her lily pad.
 
No one noticed her.
 
While the frogs croaked,
 
beeped,
 
and trilled,
 
Fragly sat alone on her lily pad.
 
No one noticed her.
 
Fragly’s eyes bulged,
 
her tongue thwipped.
 
She waved her front limbs frantically.
 
The log moved closer.
 
But the frogs played on.
 
They never noticed Fragly … or the log.
 
When Fragly bulged her eyes and “Croooked!
 
When she thwipped her tongue and “Croooked!
 
And frantically waved her limbs and “Croooked!  
 
The frogs saw the moving log getting closer and closer.
 
 They began to Croook too  …
                                                                                                                      
… until the log swam right out of their bog.
 
Hooray for Fragly!
 
No one ever ignored Fragly again.

Have you ever GOOGLED yourself? (Is googled even a word?)

I have and do occasionally. It's fun to see what pops up on the internet. In today's search, I found this article from a few years ago.

In the Midst of Grief, there is Hope  It was written by Dr. Eboni Green and published on the Caregiver Support Services website on September 24, 2020

I thought it was time to revive it especially since I've been working on a chapter on grief for my new book,
I hope you will click and take a look.

In the Midst of Grief, there is Hope

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

As I say after each post:

If you enjoy my blog, please pass it on to all your friends and they to theirs. (I’d like to drive up the readership. Sometimes it feels like I am writing in a vacuum. So go ahead. Send it to 10 of your friends.)
If you hate my blog, go ahead and send it to your enemies. (10 enemies would be good.) I won’t mind.  

donna o'donnell figurski - author
Prisoners (print) Amazon US Paperback
Prisoners (eBook) Amazon US eBook
Prisoners (audiobook) Amazon Audiobook
Prisoners (print) Barnes and Noble Paperback
Prisoners (eBook) Barnes and Noble eBook
Prisoners (print) IndieBound
Prisoners (eBook) Kobo

I’m honored to be featured on Sue's Musings - Indie Spotlight.

Take a peek into my journey to publication.

Read PRISONERS WITHOUT BARS: A CAREGIVER'S TALE.

 It will make you laugh, cry, and G-A-S-P!

Please let me know if you laughed, cried, or G-A-S-P-ed?

Sue's Musings - Indie Spotlight


donna o'donnell figurski - author
Prisoners (print) Amazon US Paperback
Prisoners (eBook) Amazon US eBook
Prisoners (audiobook) Amazon Audiobook
Prisoners (print) Barnes and Noble Paperback
Prisoners (eBook) Barnes and Noble eBook
Prisoners (print) IndieBound
Prisoners (eBook) Kobo

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

As I say after each post:

If you enjoy my blog, please pass it on to all your friends and they to theirs. (I’d like to drive up the readership. Sometimes it feels like I am writing in a vacuum. So go ahead. Send it to 10 of your friends.)

If you hate my blog, go ahead and send it to your enemies. (10 enemies would be good.) I won’t mind. (Tee Hee)

I’ve always lived away from family – well, ever since I grew up and left my parents behind. At seventeen I headed south from Erie, Pennsylvania, to Pittsburgh – about two and a half hours away – to go to college. Then I moved with my husband, David, to Rochester, New York, where he attended graduate school. There I worked at the University of Rochester and attended cosmetology school at night. After four years, with David’s Ph.D. degree in his hand, a cosmetology license clutched in mine, and with one kid tucked in the back seat of a van and one in utero, we drove into the sun to San Diego, California. There, David did his postdoctoral work. I volunteered in an elementary school and fell in love with teaching, while my forgotten cosmetology license gathered dust in a file. Next we headed to New Jersey/New York, where we spent the largest portion of our lives, raising our children while David and I each followed our passions – David, science and research, and me, teaching. After thirty-five years, it was time to make another move. We could go anywhere!

We thought of New Mexico and California. We looked in North Carolina. We even wondered about New Zealand, a place of pure beauty that we had visited many years ago. But the draw was not strong enough – not for any of them. Too cold! Too shaky! No family! Too far!

Arizona, we thought! It’s not cold or shaky. It’s not too far from family because many of our extended family members live there – aunts and cousins, nieces and a nephew, and a brother and a sister-in-law. Arizona looked good. It would be fun to finally live near family. We decided that Arizona would be the next stop on our journey of life.

Unfortunately we came too late to spend time with my mother or father. They both lived in Arizona, but their journey had ended. Though they each passed on before we arrived, they are here!

My mother is in Dillard’s, World Market, Sprouts, and Bashas’. She is at 16th Street, and she is at Bethany Home and Camelback and Indian School. She is in Paradise Valley and in the Teepee Mexican restaurant – my favorite. Chimichangas and Cheese Crisps – she always ordered them.

My father is in Pinnacle Peak and Cave Creek. He’s on Tatum Road. But mostly he is at Cold Stone, his, and now my, favorite ice creamery. He loved ice cream, and I inherited that delicious-calorie-craving gene from him. He introduced me to Cold Stone when he first moved here, and I can’t pass it without thinking of him. Sometimes I can’t pass it without indulging in an Irish Cream, Cinnamon Bun, French Toast, Cotton Candy, or Coconut ice cream cone with brownie or caramel or apple-pie filling mixed in. I do it for him. That ice cream exerts an unexplainable magnetic draw.

Arizona is alive with the spirit of my parents. They are around every corner and are never far from my mind. Every day I wake up and think I am … home!

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

As I say after each post:

If you enjoy my blog, please pass it on to all your friends and they to theirs. (I’d like to drive up the readership. Sometimes it feels like I am writing in a vacuum. So go ahead. Send it to 10 of your friends.)
If you hate my blog, go ahead and send it to your enemies. (10 enemies would be good.) I won’t mind.  

donna o'donnell figurski - author
Prisoners (print) Amazon US Paperback
Prisoners (eBook) Amazon US eBook
Prisoners (audiobook) Amazon Audiobook
Prisoners (print) Barnes and Noble Paperback
Prisoners (eBook) Barnes and Noble eBook
Prisoners (print) IndieBound
Prisoners (eBook) Kobo