Overcoming Hurdles
January swooped by and left us in the dust. Here are a handful of milestones from 2023.
Glen (25) graduated from the University of California Santa Barbara in June with a B.S. in computer science. (Can you hear his parents cheering?) We are proud of him for overcoming Covid disruptions—like so many—to earn his degree.
Despite relentless head seas and a vexing rudder post issue, Jim led a 900 mile, 9-week expedition to deliver our sailboat from San Francisco Bay to Puget Sound, Washington. Many of you followed us on that journey, and I posted two blogs: “Big Water, A Blue Whale, and A Sad Discovery” and Resilience completes her San Francisco Bay to Puget Sound Expedition.
Deep Waters was published in May. I so enjoyed author events at bookstores in California, Alaska, Washington, Ohio, and Indiana. I expected the travel to be grueling and the events stressful. Instead, the cross-country journey reconnected me/us with family and friends—including students in Alaska and childhood friends in Indiana, and I met new people. I’ve been moved by responses to my book—from people we know to strangers.
Authors’ PitchFest “Choose Your 2024 Reads” for Book Clubs
I was nervous about doing a live, tightly timed author presentation in January for a Zoom audience of ~130 people, but I practiced a lot. The time spent honing what to not include paid off.
In the 4-minute video for Deep Waters, I share a harrowing situation when Jim, our son, and I were on our sailboat in Alaska, and we almost lost Jim—again—after he'd come so close to recovering from a rare type of stroke. (Click to view.)
To watch the full-length “Adventures By the Book” event, visit "PitchFest: a FREE “Choose Your 2024 Reads” virtual Adventure with 21 fan-favorite authors" at the ABTB YouTube Channel. It's a wonderful way to hear from lots of authors.
Nature Note
This year will also have its hurdles. I hope we can face them head on and with grace.
Best wishes for a healthy, inspiring, and engaged year!
— Beth
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