Memoir in Progress

Ronnie's Reunion

Ronnie was a dad with kids of his own when he first met his biological dad who, as it turns out, is the oldest living, still gigging, jazz musician in the US. It's a whopper of a story filled with love and frustration, and the perils of trying to create a father-son relationship with a stranger—a man who missed the first 50 years of your life.

Ronnie, a past GAB participant, came to me when he decided he wanted to write about all this. He's a great storyteller but at that time, he'd only begun the writing part. We've been meeting on and off for three years now during which time we've documented what he's going through. He's shared many stories of the ups and downs of getting to know Marshall including spending many weekends travelling from his own home in Florida to see and care for Marshall, who lives in Philadelphia. Ronnie's talked about growing up in his adopted family, and what they have meant for him. I've been recording and transcribing our sessions, coding and creating summaries.

Memoir in Progress

Seva Diaries

Seva is an organization dedicated to restoring sight and preventing blindness in the developing world. Marty Spencer is an ophthalmologist who has spent 40 years volunteering with Seva, keeping a journal throughout his travels and medical adventures. Marty has great stories to tell. Our challenge is to whittle those stories down from 368,000 words to 90,000. We can do it, I know we can.