EXTRAORDINARY DREAMS OF AN IRELAND TRAVELER
PRESENTS
REFLECTIONS OF MAMIE
A Story of Survival
by
Rosemary “MAMIE” Adkins
Today, I wanted to share with you an interview conducted
by
Trish Jackson, Author
Saddle up for a wild read!
Trish:
My featured author today is, more than anything, a survivor. Her book addresses the challenges of an abused child and illustrates how important it is never to give up hope – that if you believe things can get better, they will.
So Rosemary, you write Creative Non Fiction. It’s a little different from writing fiction – basically a true story written as if it were fiction, so you know how it begins and ends before you write it. Are you a pantser? (You write by the seat of your pants and the story is all there in your head.) Or are you a plotter? (You prefer to create a plot first?)
Mamie:
I am a planner-a schemer and plotting has been my way of life since the age of four with dreams that kept my spirit alive.
Trish:
So you do take the time to plot — to decide what you are going to write before you start putting it down on paper. Is there a method you use?
Mamie
I use my dreams to create my own destiny. To discover what and where I want to be. Believing in your dreams, all things can be achieved if you dare to dream-never giving up on yourself.
Trish:
Wow! Coming from a survivor, that’s great advice. In other words, all things are possible if you can only believe. What do you think today’s readers want and how does it differ from readers of the past?
Mamie:
Recently I have been doing a little test marketing and have discovered there is a huge difference from what readers want today and what they wanted in the past. In years gone by, people took up the attitudes of not getting involved no matter what they may have witnessed or knew but today readers are looking to educate themselves on issues that they can understand and give a helping hand. I believe while readers enjoy the escape of many genres, it appears they enjoy perhaps even more to read and understand the pain of others through Memoirs.
Trish:
I’m sure you’re right. Readers today want to be emotionally engaged, and there is so much more to a true story, particularly when it is about something that so many others have experienced. What book do you want to feature in this post?
Mamie:
Reflections of Mamie
-A Story of Survival
The genre is Creative Non Fiction/Memoir
The story begins in the early 1950′s suburbs of Houston, Texas. Mamie is a young child of four who was unwanted, afraid, abused and with nowhere to turn, learned that she had to stand alone. Her only friends were her older brother, an abused child himself, and her nanny, who begged their mother to stop beating them. The father, though he loved his children, remained passive to the end. A victim himself, the only protection he offered was a warning to stay out of their mother’s reach.
This story shares Mamie’s heroic battle to keep her dreams alive and hold on to her spirit. How she finds her way out of fifty-four years of abuse is yours to discover in her fascinating memoirs.
Trish:
I can’t begin to imagine how horrific that must have been. What inspired you to finally put it down on paper and share it with others?
Mamie:
Pain. The simple emotion of pain inspired me to write this book but it took decades to come to fruition. Writing this book has become my sole goal as a legacy so I could reach out to those in pain being abused, abandoned, afraid, alone with nowhere to turn. Abuse is a lonely place to be and through my book I hope to offer a comparison from my life to perhaps their own so they will realize that if one never allows their spirits to be broken and never give up, life can belong to them again.
The message is very clear and once again, I hope to convey that the dreams in your heart with the willingness to fight for your spirit and never giving up will at some point bring you happiness and freedom.
Trish:
What would Mamie, your main character say to you if she was to meet you now?
Mamie:
Mamie is the main character in this tale of growing up knowing she was unwanted, unloved and abused. If she could tell you anything it would be to always reach or the stars and let nothing every stand in your way. Giving up in life is final and something you can’t change so never allow anyone to steal away your dreams, hopes or spirit and remember that you ultimately control your own destiny-NEVER GIVE UP! Fight to hold onto yourself and spirit-things will get better someday!
Trish:
Did you self-publish or query and hope a publisher would accept your work and how did that work out for you?
Mamie:
I have published both my own books now. I love the freedom to market the way I want to do so and not giving up control of who, what and where my book finds for a journey. Personal communication with my readers is my preference. That is not to say I wouldn’t enjoy life a bit easier than this more difficult route and the success of being traditionally published but it is working out for me.
The purpose for writing Reflections of Mamie was to reach that one person that needs hope and by self- publishing, it is more personal and I get that chance to talk with anyone that reaches out.
Trish:
Promotion is the key to success. What do you do to promote your writing?
Mamie:
As a self- published Author, marketing means writing every day whether it be writing blurbs to Tweet, creating blog posts, posting on Facebook or dreaming of new books in your heart to write. Then we have book signings, interviews both newspaper, radio and if lucky television.
Trish:
Do you have any advice for your fellow writers/authors?
Mamie:
As I have said before, I am a great believer of never giving up so no matter what obstacles you feel are road blocks to your writing sit down every day even if it is to stare at a blank page. Set a time for writing the same time each day and commit to it as though it were a job. Soon, you will find yourself wanting to do nothing else.
Trish:
Writers are always working on a new project. Tell us about yours.
Mamie:
My next project is promoting this new book and recreating my first book to perhaps a coffee table version so I can share the beauty of Ireland and what was my first dream come true with regards to writing!
Trish:
That sounds like a great idea. Give us a good reason to buy your book.
Mamie:
Abuse must stop and the more someone educates themselves to the signs of abuse, the more likely something can be done to help. Looking at the journey traveled by Mamie, you will understand the loneliness and despair and may just reach out to that someone that considers their life is not worth living and save that life. Don’t you think it would be worth that effort to read about the devastation a child or even an adult in order to improve life for those around you?
Trish:
Absolutely! Please tell us a little about yourself.
Mamie:
In case you did not realize by now, this is my story. I was born and raised in Houston, Texas to a family that found others to replace me. Abused, afraid, and nowhere to turn I learned to stand alone at age four.
Today, after five decades, I am finally free and have my own family whom I love and am so proud to call my own. An incredible daughter that makes us proud every day of her life is the joy of my life now. My husband and I will celebrate our twenty fifth wedding anniversary this August while rejoicing this book has finally been finished after sixteen years of struggling the demons and fear to find my voice.
To tell you the truth, I used to love quilting until I ran out of people to make them for so now all I am interested in and do is write-from sunup to sundown!
We love to travel and explore new destinations making friends world wide fulfilling dreams of a childhood when dreams were all I had.
I decided to write for a release and way to share in hopes of helping others find their way. That journey began with our adventures in Ireland and my first book-EXTRAORDINARY DREAMS OF AN IRELAND TRAVELER published last January. Now as my legacy, the new book REFLECTIONS OF MAMIE is about to launch. My greatest dream of all to get rid of this inside turmoil and find peace at last.
We have a huge love of animals and children so my cause I support are two. The first charity is Dreamcatchers for Abused Children who do so much to help educate and counsel but need the support from everyone possible. My love of animals takes us to Kitsap Humane Rescue Society where they do not refuse any animal that has been abused or abandoned. Abuse is such a bad turn of events it must stop as cycles are clear. A large share of my profits support these two agencies.
RECOMMENDATION:
Reflections of Mamie-A Story of Survival is a sad and joyous personal account of growing up under the worst kind of adversity. It is a story of survival during times of extreme suffering and deprivation that will leave you feeling Mamie’s anguish.
A must read for anyone with a difficult childhood or anyone wanting to understand the cycles of abuse!
…S. Allan Kane, MD
Trish:
Where can we find out more about you and your work?
Mamie:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALxGeBZELhI
Twitter: @childabusestory and @AdkinsMamie
Web Site: http://www.Reflections-of-Mamie.com (Under Construction)
BLOG: Reflections-of-Mamie.blogspot.com
Scoop It: http://www.scoop.it/t/story-of-survival-child-abuse
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rosemary-Mamie-Adkins/
GOODREADS: http://www.goodreads.com/mamiesireland
AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/author/rosemaryadkins
E-Mail: Mamie@Reflections-of-Mamie.com
Trish Jackson, Author
Saddle up for a wild read!
Thank you Trish for having me on your blog and allowing me to share your interview with my friends here. I’m still a dreamer but now one that is happy with her own family.
Launch June 2013
Reserve your copy today!
Rosemary “Mamie” Adkins
See on Scoop.it – Story of Survival-Child Abuse
A jury last month convicted Chritton of child neglect but deadlocked on counts of reckless endangerment, causing mental harm to a child, child abuse and false imprisonment. Prosecutors say they plan …..
What exactly is the truth-Child Abuse or Neglect? Starvation, denial or refusal? What do you think? @childabusestory
See on www.nbc15.com
See on Scoop.it – Ireland Travel
We’re headed into the peak summer travel season, but you can beat the crowds.
Be sure to check out this article before traveling.
See on www.petergreenberg.com
EXTRAORDINARY DREAMS
OF AN
IRELAND TRAVELER WELCOMES
STUART CARRUTHERS
Stuart Carruthers was born in England, where I lived until 2005 when I decided to sell everything and move to Taiwan because “no one I know has ever been there”. Several years later I married and had two children. With two small children, my time for hobbies is limited, so right now I just use my time to write.
Plastic Patrick
I’ve forgotten what it was like to be made of flesh and bone. I used to be. Everyone used to be. But by the time it happened to me it was ‘normal’ and almost a rite of passage. In the early days, once the fear and panic had subsided, people even held plastic parties. That was 80 years ago.
What caused it? Well today we know, but it took many years find out. It began in the old Irish communities around the world. Places like New York and Boston were the first to succumb. A few days after one St Patrick’s Day, reports started coming in of people not being able to taste things and their mouths feeling furry. Initially it was put down to bad Guinness or the green dye they used to make it fun, but it spread beyond their mouths and soon they struggled to breath and they were hospitalized and locked up in secure wards. They were the unlucky ones; they were prodded, probed and dissected to find out what was happening. The real figures never came out but it’s believed that many thousands of victims were killed and dissected to discover the cause.
As the contagion spread, and the rest of the country came down with similar symptoms, the panic really started. Within 30 days those initial victims, who’d been hospitalized when their plasticization became more obvious, were completely transformed and had the glossy sheen that today we consider normal. But, as it became apparent that these people weren’t dying and that the numbers of affected spread into the millions around the country the panic subsided and they were treated with suspicion and fear and rounded up into camps as the authorities tried to contain the spread.
Within three years 50 percent of the population was affected and the camps had been closed down still no one knew the cause and it had by then gone around the world. And then, the first plastic baby was born, kicking and screaming it looked normal except for its plastic sheen. It soon became a case of them and us: the Plastics who were immortal and only ate seaweed and the Fleshes who still consumed the contents of the planet.
Within another three years the last person became plastic. There were no more flesh babies being born and most people had forgotten about the cause. When the scientists and politicians and become plastic the incentive to do anything about it had waned and now, as you know, we’re all plastic.
But one last thing before we go our separate ways:
One day, out of the blue an advert was placed on social networking sites and worlds’ newspapers that claimed responsibility. Its message was a simple one “Now you’re all plastic, you fake Oirish. Signed Plastic Patrick.”
THANK YOU STUART FOR VISITING AND OFFERING US YET ANOTHER SLANT ON IRISH TALES!
PLEASE COME AGAIN AND LEAVE US YOUR COMMENTS.
Extraordinary Dreams of an Ireland Traveler
http://www.ExtraordinaryIreland.com
Rosemary “Mamie” Adkins
Please watch for my new book Reflections of Mamie-A Story of Survival to launch in June 2013.
Extraordinary Dreams of an Ireland Traveler
WELCOMES BACK
AUTHOR JON MAGEE
in
EXTRAORDINARY MEMORIES
Across the seas COMES OUR FRIEND AUTHOR JON MAGEE whom has written special memories to share just for you!
I ask him to share his life with us once more as well. I know you will find the following truly a life of inspiration and be so happy you have met this giving and talented writer.
Thank you Jon
Author Jon Magee
A Journey with a difference (2)
Sometimes it is interesting to be able to look through newspaper clippings of past headlines, and reflect. There are two that my late mother kept, they were items that were important to her, both of them dated in 1977.
The Daily Mail has the headline “One day old baby saved in major heart operation”, with a sub heading declaring “It was a tremendous piece of surgery. A few years ago she would have died“.
The Belfast Telegraph in Northern Ireland has the following head line.
BABY HEART “FIRST”. Operation on day – old girl!!
————————————————————————————————————–
In the 1970′s the regular news in Ireland was of death and violence as terrorism took its toll on innocent life. But these headlines, dated in November 1977 took news in a different direction. It was a message of hope in a world of h
opelessness.
The story recounts how Professor Philip Caves, aged 37, a native of Belfast, performed this operation in Glasgow on a baby one day old. One can sense how delicate this operation was as they described the heart being operated on was a mere 3 inches in size, and it “was so tiny it was like mending a watch”.
The baby was born in a small hospital in the north of Scotland in Elgin, before taking the journey first to Aberdeen, and then flying by helicopter to Glasgow. The 3rd daughter of an Electronic Technician in the air force and his wife.
Hope, in the midst of what seemed impossible!
—————————————————————————–
Those were the headlines, the public face of what was happening in November 1977. However, what about the private moments that were away from the glare of the media? Picture, for a moment, a father and mother who would have
been talking through those anxious moments. A sea change of emotions through those brief days. The elation of new life, the puzzlement at the added interest the staff was taking in the maternity unit, the anxiety and concern, realizing that life can be so fragile.
There were the moments of tears, along with the times of encouragement as humanity showed its caring face, encouraging and consoling in times of uncertainty. Always hoping against hope, though knowing the worst thoughts can always be possible.
The operation was a success, and Professor Caves did a wonderful job. Yet at 3 days of age the baby of hope was to come to the end of her short life, not because the operation was a failure, far from it, but because a further heart defect undiagnosed had emerged.
——————————————————————————-
Faith Dawn Magee, as the baby was called, was OUR baby, our 3rd daughter. It is therefore, for us, more than a headline in the media. I remember hearing those words that no parent wishes to hear, and taking that long walk to the room where my wife was as a patient, wondering how I should share the news. A few days before the excitement of new life, then the frantic journey from Elgin to Aberdeen where, it was thought, resources would be better than the smaller hospital. Soon it was realized even Aberdeen could not help, other than to care for the mother as baby was flown by helicopter to Glasgow.
These are situations that have no clear answers. Later we were to discover that this all resulted from Diabetes that only appeared through pregnancy, but there will always be questions that have no answers.
Yet there are some positive things that we cling to. We know the operation was a success, and we are aware of the amount of time and effort that was given to that wee life. We know we are fortunate that we live in a country where the medical hope is not dependent on how much money we have, or if we have sufficient insurance cover. We are aware that much was learnt from those few days which have been the means of giving life to other wee children. And though there are questions that are never answered we know that we could not have moved on in our lives without the confidence that we sensed that we were not alone, and in our faith we felt the comfort of the God who gave to us life, albeit for a short time, in our own wee baby, Faith.
He promised He would never leave us, and for us that had to be more than a scriptural verse open to debate between those of differing persuasions, it was our experience.
Please be sure to stop by Jon Magee’s site on Amazon for your copy of the incredible books he has to offer. The addresses are:
http://www.facebook.com/from.barren.rocks.2living.stones
http://www.facebook.com/paradise.island.heavenly.journey?fref=ts
WHERE Jon Magee’s Book can be Purchased:
http://www.amazon.com/Jon-Magee/e/B003VN33WA/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1/175-2809173-7678919
Author of “From Barren Rocks to Living Stones” & “Paradise Island,
Heavenly Journey” lochgellybaptist@aol.com
Be sure to visit next week to enjoy yet another story but this time by Author Stuart Carruthers with another slant for Extraordinary Dreams of an Ireland Traveler blog post.
Thank you once more for visiting my 
blog. Please come back this coming Friday to find a special offer that benefits the American Diabetes Association.
Rosemary “Mamie” Adkins
Extraordinary Dreams
of an
Ireland Traveler
http//:www.ExtraordinaryIreland.com
SOON TO LAUNCH:
PLEASE WATCH FOR MY NEW BOOK IN JUNE
REFLECTIONS OF MAMIE
A STORY OF SURVIVAL
Extraordinary Dreams of an Ireland Traveler
welcomes back
AUTHOR, RON L. CHERRY
Some more observant readers will notice “Irish whiskey” and “Scotch whisky.” This was no typo. Irish and Americans distill whiskey, but the Scots distill whisky. Since both words come from the English translation of the Gaelic translation (uisce beatha in Irish and uisge beatha in Scots Gaelic) of the Latin for distilled drink (aqua vitae or water of life, because it was thought to be medicinal for everything from the common cold to smallpox), it’s understandable that there might be a little confusion about spelling. But enough etymology, what about the booze?
Copper Pot Stills
All whiskey (or whisky) in the British Isles is produced with basically the same process. First, barley is malted, i.e., it is soaked in water for a number of days and allowed to sprout. This allows it to produce the sugars necessary to make alcohol. Then the malted barley is dried in a kiln and ground into a grist. That grist is then put into a vat with water and heated to produce what’s termed a “mash.” The mash is filtered to give a sweet liquid that is called the wort. Then the wort goes into huge vats where it ferments in a beer-like liquid known as the “wash” with a low alcohol content (maybe 6-8 %). Finally, it is pumped into a still (normally copper pot stills that are large, bell-shaped vessels with a bend at the top) and the alcohol is boiled off and collected by cooling coils. This produces what is called “low wine,” which is about 25%-35% alcohol. That is distilled again to produce whiskey. In Ireland, it normally undergoes one more distillation. This stuff, which is what early whiskey would have been like, is pretty raw and has plenty of bite. In Ireland, it was (and is) called poteen, which has a strong similarity and kinship to backwoods America’s white lightening. Nowadays it’s aged at least a few years and often blended with milder grain spirits in Irish whiskeys like Bushmills and Jameson, as well as Scotch Whiskys like Johnny Walker, Dewars and Cutty Sark, to name just a few. Any questions?
Jameson Whiskey
and Jameson 12 yr old
In honor of my heroine, the straight-shooting, hard-drinking female P.I. Morg Mahoney, I’ll focus on the Irish bit-of-the-creature in this post. Morg’s poison-of-choice is Jameson. Jameson has been made in Ireland since John Jameson founded the distillery in 1780. It is a blended whiskey, having a corn-based spirit added, but is the only one I know that makes it in the same copper stills as it uses for its malted barley wash. It is called a single pot still, which is more traditional than the continuous still normally used to make bourbon. It is incredibly smooth (or “Smooooth!” as Col. Potter used to say about his bourbon whiskey on the appropriately named show M.A.S.H.), yet has a great flavor. So why wouldn’t Morg love it? Maybe a little too much. She does drink a lot more Jameson than I do all whiskey and whisky combined, but that’s her character. I did do a tour of the Jameson distillery in Dublin. Unfortunately, it is more of a museum than a tour of a working distillery, but they do have a great gift shop. For great distillery tours, there are a few in Scotland I could recommend.
Bushmills and Tullamore Dew
Is Jameson the only Irish whiskey? Not by a long shot. Check it out online. Another famous one is Bushmills, made in Antrim, Northern Ireland. Since King James I of England (who was also King James VI of Scotland) granted to Sir Thomas Phillipps the right to distill whiskey in 1608, Bushmills claims to be the oldest distillery in all the world. Since the company Old Bushmills Distillery was not organized until 1784, that might be debated. Some Irish don’t like it because it is not from the Republic of Ireland. I don’t like it because I think it is too bitey. But then I don’t like the peaty Islay Scotch whisky for the same reason and some people love it. I do like Tullamore Dew, but it tastes more like Jameson than Bushmills. In whiskey or whisky, it’s all a matter of taste.
Originally, there would only have been one type of whiskey from any distillery and it would not have been a blended. To appeal to a wider customer pool, the stronger-flavored single malts gave way to blendeds in the last century. But tastes have changed and now people want “the good stuff.” Hence, the rise in popularity of expensive single malts in Scotch as well as single malts and aged single-pot Irish whiskeys. Oak casks that once housed sherry, bourbon, cognac or Madeira infuse a slight nuance from their original usage into the whiskey or whisky. What’s next? I have no idea, but I am sure distillers will come up with a new way to produce a more expensive, more elite bottle of booze. After all, a bottle of 64-year-old Macallan single-malt whisky in a Lalique Cire Perdue decanter sold in 2010 for $460,000.
Finally, good whiskey and whisky is to savored, not knocked back as shots. It is to sipped, not slurped. It is not to be mixed. Single malts and single pot still whiskeys can have a splash of water and blends are okay with ice. No mixers, including soda, improve a good Scotch whisky or Irish whiskey. If you want to drink to get drunk, find another choice. Cheap vodka or tequila, perhaps. Don’t waste your whiskey.
The link to the Macallen info is http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/12/11/166942482/worlds-most-expensive-whisky-its-not-the-one-we-toasted
–
R.L. Cherry
Thank you again for joining me to welcome our guest for stories of Ireland.
Please be sure to visit again and read Part 2 from Author Jon Magee next week.
Extraordinary Dreams
of an
Ireland Traveler
http://www.ExtraordinaryIreland.com
Mamie
See on Scoop.it – Story of Survival-Child Abuse
I am very grateful for those special people in my life. It is with their love all things are possible. @childabusestory
See on thequotes.net
