It was supposed to be a treat to myself for the completion
and publication of The Ex-Mexican Wives Club. The hills surrounding Lake
Chelan were alive with fall color and autumn sun. Orchards vying with vineyards in a
dance of glory as my friends and I arrived mid-afternoon. We settled into the
cottage and walked downtown for an early dinner. Later, after a stop at the
local bookstore to set up a reading and a few glasses of wine at a Chelan favorite, we stocked up on groceries and headed home on foot.
Was it the new eyeglasses I’d picked up the day before or
the few glasses of wine I'd just enjoyed? Was it grocery bags in both hands and a crack in the
sidewalk? Was I looking over my shoulder, cracking jokes at the friends behind
me? Whatever it was, I landed face down on concrete.
It’s been three weeks since the release of The Ex-Mexican
Wives Club. Two weeks since I fell. My face has healed. The
concussion has not, so plans for public readings are still on hold. That said,
I’m pleased to share the first Amazon review of my new memoir:
There are certain authors that I follow so I don't miss
the release of a new book. Arleen Williams is one of those - one of my
favorites! Of her three memoirs, this book, is the best one yet. It is a fascinating
story of her years in Mexico and the people she met while living there under
challenging circumstances. In this book, she traces back through old letters
and journals to piece together faded memories of a turbulent time in her life -
and then reaches out to find the women she knew then to better understand both
her own story and their stories. This book made me think about the people I've
known as I moved around the world. Imagine taking the time to find out whatever
happened to this or that friend who was so important to me at one time in my
life. But Arleen actually did it!
Perhaps this book is my favorite of the three memoirs
because, book by book, more pieces of the story are filled in. In the previous
memoirs, the years in Mexico are alluded to. With this book, those years are
now explained. I recommend that readers gobble up all three memoirs, The
Thirty-Ninth Victim. The Ex-Mexican Wives Club, and Mom's Last Move. They all
hang together like an intriguing puzzle. Now I'm waiting for the next memoir!
