Rebecca's Note:
After seven years of online community, which reaches from Australia to Ireland to Lafayette, Louisiana, and after countless in-person Ya-Ya gatherings all over the world, it's great to have a newsletter that can help keep us posted on all our goings-on.
I'm looking forward to checking in every couple of months with news about my books and all things Ya-Ya! I hope this newsletter will be a welcome reminder of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, and that you'll pass it along to friends who are new to the embrace of our community.
Here we are, at the threshold of a new year. Like all beginnings, this year brings with it a gumbo of emotions ranging from joy to fear of the unknown. I'm facing health challenges from Lyme disease, but at the same time, I'm literally facing a pasture filled with sheep outside our new home. Surrounded by ancient Douglas Firs, Big Leaf Maples, and Western Red Cedars, I am sheltered by the angels of the trees. The trees are sending their old, good, deep-rooted protection to help me through every day. As I work on the new Ya-Ya novel, I ask for help from above. "Shine it on me!" I call out sometimes when I'm frustrated. "Shine it good!"
When I bask in the warmth of my new home, I try to remember those who are still experiencing the anguish and heartbreak from Katrina, which savaged my homeland in a way which I still cannot fully comprehend. Please don't get me wrong: I ain't no Mother Teresa, Jr.; I'm just a scrawny fiction writer who is trying to find meaning in my life.
When we live in awareness of the suffering in the world, we deepen our understanding of what sisterhood--and brotherhood--is about. The Ya-Ya Sisterhood is far deeper than discussing Brazilian bikini waxes or the sexiness of George Clooney (although I agree-- he is a hunk, and I love his politics.) We open ourselves to laughter, mutual support, and the need for peace both within our own hearts and the heart of the world. This does not mean we are "downers." It means we learn to love the little things: the feel of our hands in warm, soapy water as we wash dishes; the joy of putting one foot in front of the other in the miracle of walking; the sight of our loved ones as they sleep, so vulnerable, wrapped in dreams. We learn to ask questions of the challenges we are given: What am I to learn? What is the lesson here?" Today we love the little things. Tomorrow, the world.
We walk into this new year knowing that when we stumble, we will be caught. Sisters catch each other. We crack each other up with warped, healing humor, and we also catch each other. In the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, nobody falls through the cracks.
In April, the trade paperback of Ya-Yas in Bloom will be published. If I'm strong enough, I'll do some publicity and touring. If not, I'll do what I can from the sweet spot I call home. And through it all, I'll be whispering messages of gratitude to you, my readers, my kind readers.
Happy New Year, Y'all!
84,000 Blessings,
Rebecca Wells
http://www.ya-ya.com
Ya-Yas in Bloom
Coming in Paperback -- April 2006
http://www.harpercollins.com/global_scripts/product_catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=0060953659
Lyme Disease
Read more about Rebecca's recent experience with Lyme Disease:
http://ya-ya.com/lyme
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