Thursday, July 15, 2010

Exciting news afoot- a plane, i'm bound for the USA - Iowa University's Non Fiction Now Conference in Nov to read from The Weight and more...!

4 comments:

  1. YAH! How exciting! They are going to love it!

    Just to let you know that the local book club in Bega, here, are meeting tonight. Guess which book they are looking at?????? Yep - The Weight Of Silence! Woo hoo! xx

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  2. Hate mail?! What the.....? Funny that it's from 'Sharons'. So funny!!!! Of course it would be from them. LOL

    I'm sooo excited to hear you are writing your next book! Oh my goodness, soooooo excited. Please be as quick as you can...LOL No pressure, Catherine! Can you share anything about it or is that totally not the thing to do? OK, I just want to know this one little thing...is it part 2 of The Weight Of Silence? Totally understand if you can't answer this question. I'm not a patient, long-suffering person so it's gunna be hard to wait but...I can do it. If I have to!

    I can't stop writing. It's become an absolute obsession like never before. So weird and wonderful and all thanks to you and your wonderful, wonderful real voice. There are so many things I want to write about. How do I get started into the real process of writing a book? Blogging is so addictive yet it's stopping me doing the other stuff. I need some direction...please! I want to write about our unschooling/homeschooling/parenting journey and I also want to write about nests/homey homes and interior design. I want stories of other people's lives. I want to do too much so therefore I do...nothing! I'd love some suggestions...

    The book club went really well. Lots of passion in that room, from what my sources tell me. Can I let them all know that your next book can be put onto their book club list? Sooooo exciting!

    Happy writing, Catherine. I'm can't wait to hear more about your new book and I can't wait to tell my friends about it. They will be so delighted! xxxx Kim

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  3. Kim, sweet pea, how are you? Thanks for your lovely messages, ive been away from the internet, juggling work, family, writing and preparing for my upcoming US trip. In answer to your questions regarding how to proceed with your writing, from my experiences there is only one way to do it - and that is to write. Write your heart out, literally. For me writing is descending to the depths of myself. And beyond. Think of a deep sea diver. It takes time and the momentum is always continuous. The internet with all of its distractions brings me abruptly to the surface, breaking my concentration, so i am an infrequent user. Infact i dont have access to it where i write. As writing mothers we are constantly in flight between worlds, real and imagined, and our endless responsibilites. Look at you with your incredible sensitivities and capacity to show the world to your son, through your teachings. My goodness, you have my deepest bow. There is nothing more important than what you are doing. And through this work, it may be that you are being 'written.' That your book is writing itself indside you. I believe that what we feel deeply lies in wait until we are ready to transcribe it. Finding what you need to do to guard and keep the flame of your story burning is just part of the work of culitivating respect for the part of you that seeks this expression. It may be an hour a day or a week, or a special notebook, or place that you write. As i worked on the TWOSilence over 8 years, i had no notion at all of what it was becoming, or if any one would ever read it, infact it was the opposite. It was scribbled on the back of shopping dockets, in the margins of my sons homework, in books i was reading, i had bits and pieces everywhere, until the story had ripened in me and i surrended to the harvesting, with no attachment to the outcome. Writing because i had no choice. Like breathing. I hope some of this resonates. There are some wonderful writing books i would recommend as companions, Bird by Bird by Annie Lammont, Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg and Room to Write by Bonni Goldgerg, to name a few. Another thing i share with my students, big and little is that writing is not about thinking things up, but getting things down. Much love,and getting down, CT x If you send me your address, i would like to send you something.

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  4. Oh my goodness! I've only just found your comment now! It's June 2011!!!!!! Oh what a lovely and inspiring thing to read - especially right now! I'm ready to write properly. I'm just going to do it. And I soooo love what you've said about it being written inside me as I'm living my life. That's how I feel. I love hearing that your jotted down bits and pieces here and there were what became your gorgeous book. Even in your son's homework margins!! LOL

    Like you said just write is what I need to do. The computer is so very distracting. Everytime I get on here I say to myself I'm going to write and then I get caught up with the net and I've wasted hours, once more. BUT oh how happy I am that I did get distracted today. I would not have found your comment had I been diliegnetly writing;)I've linked your blog to my blog but you haven't updated in such a long time that I thought you weren't here. Hence me not stopping by to pick up this lovely comment.

    It's funny, I was actually popping in to see what you've been up to and to see if I'd somehow missed your update link or something. I'm so happy, happy, happy that I did!

    How is your writing going? Did I hear you are writing fiction at the moment? How did your US trip go? When will your new book be out???? Would you consider an author talk in the lovely, lovely Bega Valley at a funky little bookstore in the main drag? Just wondering;)

    Kindest loveliest wishes to you
    Kim

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Reviews for The Weight of Silence

  • AUSTRALIAN BOOKSELLER & PUBLISHER MAGAZINE ..."This is a special memoir. It is written with great feeling, imagination, humour and originality, and shows a writer with a distinct view of the world within and around her."
  • AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S WEEKLY ....Recommended read ... " A moving and funny childhood memoir ....timeless."
  • BETTER READ THAN DEAD --- Bookshop... " Catherine Therese puts her childhood memories on display in this raw, moving and at times hilarious account of her younger life. This book is well written and unique, and touches on issues that are easily identifiable with us all. The natural curiosity of a growing girl never makes for a dull story and if at times you need a breather from the back streets of Blacktown, just close the pages and stare at the front cover! What an image. I loved this biography."
  • BIG W ENTERTAINMENT... 5 STARS ..." Stunning, heartbreaking, book, that deserves multiple readings. I have never read such a revealing portrayal of childhood. Therese uses the language we think in not speak and as such this gem of a book is an utter revelation. It is beautifully , hauntingly written. As soon as I finished it I started again. Genius."
  • CANBERRA TIMES...Emily Maguire '...Its a hearfelt, funny and deeeply moving memoir about flawed families, unconditional love and growing up too fast but turning out okay anyway.'
  • CHRIS BURGESS ---- Leading Edge --- " The Weight of Silence is without doubt one of the most exciting and exceptional Australian debuts of recent years. Describing it as a ‘memoir’ hardly does justice to the imagination, verve and freedom expressed in this strikingly original work. At a surface level it is the story of Catherine Therese’s childhood and early teens growing up with her rather unusual family in the western suburbs of Sydney. At a deeper level it takes the reader deep within the experience of a difficult family life in a way that is challenging, funny, heartbreaking and ultimately inspiring. This is ‘stream of consciousness’ writing without literary pretension. Raw, honest and incredibly imaginative, I loved it. "
  • DI MORRISSEY... Author..." This book is SO moving...just beautiful.
  • FRANKIE MAGAZINE..." Guys like David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs have given the term ‘memoir’ a swift kick up the arse and now we can add Catherine Therese to the list."
  • GOOD READING MAGAZINE...' 5 STARS Outstanding. Catherine Therese's first book is one of the most compelling childhood memoirs I have ever read . Often it seems as if she is just throwing down whatever thoughts are inside her head down on paper. This unique writing style using prose and poetic verse reminds me a little of Augesten Burroughs. It's an unforgettable book that will remind you of many childhood stories that have never been told.
  • MADISON MAGAZINE..." This memoir is a bouquet of dark humour laced with heartbreak and the kind of suburban detail to which we can all relate. Therese has crafted a coming of age reminiscence populated by wonderful characters and suffused with unblinking honesty... A highly worthwhile read from a sharp new Australian voice. "
  • MANLY DAILY ..." This is a brave memoir that successfully engages the voice of Therese as a child and teenage narrator.It is a beautifully written chameleon of a book dotted with pint sized poems that sometimes befuddle, sometimes dazzle.It will perform its way into your heart and mind, then quietly turn itself inside out and reveal its secrets before rushing headlong into the final pages that will leave you holding your breath. A courageous debut.
  • NICK TATE ---- Actor --- " Catherine Therese has written a stunning autobiography, an extraordinary book. She truly is a one off, a delightful, funny, quirky painfully honest young woman; this is one very brave, courageous, talented writer, one we are going to hear a great deal more from. I have no doubt that this book will take Australia by storm. "
  • PETER BISHOP --- Creative Director Varuna ---- " This is a book of deep, sacred dignity and the highest literary skill and imagination. The story comes to life through acute observation and detail and a unique voice and beautiful writing; an impressionistic style, a quivering, shimmering presence; a vitalitythat gives one a sense that there may be another way of living, of looking at the world. "
  • READINGS--- Melbourne --- " Catherine Therese’s family all describe her as ‘unusual’ (pronounced ‘un-you-sual’). In this unique memoir, she tells us of her pride in having an outie belly button, being greedy for choosing the names of two saints and seeing her first doodle courtesy of the naughty grandson next door. Despite being laugh-out-loud funny, the underlying theme is much more serious. The irony of her father’s alcoholism and verbal abuse, with her mother and sisters never daring to mention his appalling behaviour due to the fear of embarrassing him, is at turns painfully funny and incredibly sad. First kisses, shallow school friendships and a dodgy boyfriend occupy her teen years as the family silences grow and the deceptions increase. The birth of her son is relentlessly depicted via the madness of free verse, highlighting the horrors of contractions and impending parenthood. Therese generously allows us a glimpse into her tortured but uniquely creative soul and her eventual redemption."
  • SALVATION ARMY WARCRY MAGAZINE...." 4 1/2 STARS Excellent and highly amusing memoir of life in Oz in the ’60s and ’70s. A coming of age saga that will give you equal cause to laugh and cry. Creatively written.'
  • VOGUE MAGAZINE ..." A bittersweet remembrance of things past and dark suburban secrets."