Grief: The Great Yearning is a finalist in the memoir category for the Sharp Writ Book Awards, and they asked me for a 30 second introduction to the book for their “awards ceremony” video. A couple of days ago I posted a draft of this video and here’s the finished video blurb.
After I put this video together, I realized an interesting coincidence: All the photos were taken in August, around the 15th.
The first photo might look like the desert, but it’s a photo of him in Colorado at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, a few months before he died. I didn’t even know I had the photo, but I found it in a computer file after he was gone, and it shattered what was left of my heart. It looked as if he’d already been moving away from me toward eternity. Oddly, though I didn’t plan it, the three photos I used in the video were all taken within a few minutes of each other on that excursion. The gnarled tree with the stormy clouds, the profound depth of the canyon, the photo of him looking to eternity all now seem to be signs of my unconscious grief.
The photo on the cover of the book is taken in the very same place, exactly a year earlier. The photo of the two of us together (the only photo ever taken of the two of us together) was taken exactly thirteen years earlier than the three photos. And we met exactly thirty-two years before that last trip to the Black Canyon. I had no idea August was such a significant month for me.
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Pat Bertram is the author of the suspense novels Light Bringer, More Deaths Than One, A Spark of Heavenly Fire, and Daughter Am I. Bertram is also the author of Grief: The Great Yearning, “an exquisite book, wrenching to read, and at the same time full of profound truths.” Connect with Pat on Google+
January 10, 2013 at 11:44 am
Nicely done, Pat. THRILLED and excited about your Finalist nod. So happy for you. Much deserved recognition for a very talented author and her work.
January 10, 2013 at 2:23 pm
Thank you, Deb. I am thrilled that the book is a finalist. My first award nomination!
January 10, 2013 at 12:56 pm
Lovely, Pat. I especially like the Black Canyon of Gunnison…we lived right near there and have been to the bottom…mirrors and all so you can see if a car is coming from the other direction around hairpin curves. So many memories….great video….more work than it appears, I bet.
January 10, 2013 at 2:25 pm
Yes, a lot of work, especially since I had to learn how to use the Movie Maker program before I could do it.
I am so glad he and I took that last excursion together. The north rim of the canyon was only 20 miles from where we lived, but that unpaved road was too difficult for our cars and that was the only time we went.
January 10, 2013 at 12:57 pm
I like the video, but I think for those reviews you should say where they come from.
January 10, 2013 at 2:21 pm
You’re absolutely right. I should have done that, but realized it too late. Someday I will rectify that.
January 10, 2013 at 2:50 pm
maybe after this awards ceremony.
oh, speaking of book trailers, that reminds me, i’ve got a question for you, Pat.
January 10, 2013 at 3:03 pm
Okay, I’m ready. I hope I have an answer for you.
January 10, 2013 at 4:30 pm
Well, I’m getting ready to publish a collection of short stories. You said that when I do get ready to put out a book, you might interview me. Is there a chance we could set up some sort of interview?
January 10, 2013 at 5:30 pm
Yes, of course. The interview questions and instructions are here: http://patbertram.wordpress.com/author-questionnaire/ If there is a particular date you’d like the interview posted, be sure to mention that in the comment reply, too.
January 10, 2013 at 5:42 pm
okay, and thanks Pat. I really appreciate it.
January 11, 2013 at 10:15 am
How perfectly wonderful! And I love the photo of the 2 of you – makes it more real for us. Thank you for sharing!
January 11, 2013 at 12:13 pm
Thank you, Kathy. I’m pleased with the way the trailer turned out — as a tribute to him.
January 11, 2013 at 12:28 pm
It’s funny (not in a humorous way, but more of a that’s just how life goes way) how we can look back on so many events in our lives and see those unexpected links and coincidences we missed in the moment.
January 11, 2013 at 2:45 pm
It must be because we live in the moment. It’s only later that we see how some of those moments connect.