Preemie/Vacation Update II

Our vacation has been wonderful, but sadly, as these things do, it is coming to an end.

Here are a couple of pictures from this wonderful little beach we found on the end of Lake Placid!

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Lee has a few more days off, but Tuck has decided he’d like to wake up tomorrow in New Hampshire on his 14th birthday!  So today we’re loading up duffle bags, beach towels and life jackets to make the trip back from New York, across Vermont, into New Hampshire.

It’s been a marvelous vacation and so joyous to spend time with family and continue to share my book with the world.  I have received so many beautiful letters from others who have read my book.  I’m hoping next week to share a blog post with several of the notes I’ve received!

I had a radio interview on Monday with Larry Whitler out of Ocala, Florida.  Here is the podcast if you’d like to LISTEN.

I had two radio interviews this morning; both were taped, so I’ll keep you posted as to air dates!  The first was with David Freymiller’s Morning News KCTA-AM out of Corpus Christi, Texas, and the second was with John Ostapkovich’s News Feature on KYW-AM Philadelphia, PA.

Vacation and book tour has left little time for my own writing, so I’d like to share an essay from another preemie mom that is truly one of the most beautiful, uplifting, life-affirming  posts I’ve ever read.  I hope you think so, too!  The Air of Possibility by Shannon Pruitt of My New Favorite Day.

Thanks once again for following me along on this wondrous ride!

How is your summer going? Can you feel fall and school bells lurking around the corner?

Preemie Update

Greetings from Lake Placid, New York, where my entire family has gathered for a week of summer fun in the former Olympic village!

Here are all the cousins on top of Whiteface Mountain!

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And while we’re busy enjoying our family time, Preemie is busy making her rounds!

There is an article I wrote featured on Hand to Hold’s website Preemie Babies 101 about the struggles of breastfeeding a preemie called “Changing the Definition of ‘Nursing’ Your Preemie.”  Click on this linkhttp://www.preemiebabies101.com/2012/08/nursing/ to check it out!

A 30 minute interview about Preemie aired on Sunday 8/5 in Seattle on a morning program called “Inspirational Women with Kate Daniels.”  If you’d like to listen to the podcast, click on this link http://warm1069.com/inspirationalwomen Then click on the 8-5-12 interview!

Tonight I have the honor of joining The Lake Placid/Saranac Lake Book Clubs as they discuss Preemie.  Lee and the kids are going to walk me over to the meeting so that everyone in the group can meet the main “characters” in the book before we start our discussion!

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I don’t know how long The Shine interview will be prominently featured of Yahoo!’s website, so be sure to check it out and if you haven’t yet, please share it with everyone you know! http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/the-one-pound-baby.html

Last night we had a birthday dinner because tomorrow on August 8th, I turn 45!  Here I am with my brother, John and my sister, Libbie at The Mirror Lake Inn.

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I love a quiet, reflective birthday, so tomorrow I plan to paddle board on Mirror Lake, take a long walk around town, sneak away for a 9:05 live radio interview on The Mark Johnson Show on WDEV out of Burlington, Vermont (!!), pull out my notebook and pen to chronicle some of the past year’s noteworthy events (I’m sure I’ll find a few things to write about!) and enjoy a meal at our favorite Lake Placid haunt, The Caribbean Cowboy!  Gotta love a birthday!!

Thanks again for all your continued love and support!

How is your summer going? Are you in a situation where you’re juggling work and family life? Please don’t be shy about leaving comments! I love to hear from you!

SHINE the Light on Preemie

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Here it is guys!

The Preemie interview on The Shine!  (Mom and Dad, click on the blue letters right below the photo and it will take you to the page!)

 

SHINE INTERVIEW

There are two interview clips, so please be sure to watch both.

My intention when I set out to write Preemie was the hope of helping others who found themselves in a situation similar to ours.  I really hope that these videos will spread that message.

You can help by sharing the link with anyone and everyone you think might benefit from seeing the videos or might know someone who would.

Deepest thanks and love to you all!

This is kind of exciting, isn’t it?

Shine Alert

Screen-Shot-2012-07-31-at-8.30.47-PM1I swear, this is really it!

I just heard from the producer at The Shine and they’ve bumped my interviews up to tomorrow, August 1st.

Not my August 8th, my birthday as we thought, but an early birthday present anyway!

The Shine’s video today was on dating advice which fortunately I don’t need anymore, but Lee will tell you, I could have used it when we first met!

I’ll post the link when I get it tomorrow!

Kinda freaking out!

It’s one thing to put myself out there in the book, another all together on video!

Yikes!

Book Tour 2012 Continues…

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Today, Preemie is featured in a review over on Cheerio Road, Karen Maezen Miller’s beautiful blog.  Karen is not only the mama of a preemie, but the author of two simply wonderful books, Hand Wash Cold: Care Instructions for an Ordinary Life and Momma Zen: Walking the Crooked Path of Motherhood.  Aren’t those fabulous titles?  The books are just as inspiring!

To read Karen’s review of Preemieclick Here!

And…

An excerpt of Preemie is being featured today over on another incredible blog, Tamara Lunardo’s fabulous Tamara Out Loud, where I had the honor of sharing my essay, Making Meaning last Septmeber!  Tamara is a beautiful writer and is currently involved in a new, huge book project called What a Woman is Worth.  Be sure to check it out!  And of course the excerpt from Preemie, too, which you can read by clicking Here!

And please don’t be afraid to leave a comment on either or both!  Believe me, bloggers LOVE to hear comments from new readers!

Book Tour? You bet ‘cha!

Preemie_FrontCovFsmMkt1-204x300“How’s the book tour going?” I’ve been hearing a lot lately.

I’m pretty sure when people ask that question, they have visions of me lugging a big suitcase full of books onto planes and trains and into car trunks, as I travel from big city to small town bookstore alike.

I’m usually met with wide-eyed looks of surprise when I report that the “tour” is going very well and I’ve barely left my house!

Beside the trip to NYC for The Shine interview, Concord, New Hampshire for the NHPR radio interview, Texas for my conference talk and the next town over for my Book Launch party, I’ve done everything over the phone or computer from the comfort of my living room (and a few times from a parking lot in my car – shhh!).

Because the kids are out of school for summer vacation, I really couldn’t travel much even if I wanted to, so I’ve focused much of my “tour” on radio interviews and blogs.  It’s been busy for sure, but when the interview ends and I hang up the phone, I call out to the kids (and the dog) “Ok, you can make noise now!” and we do, enjoying the rest of our summer day with popsicles, bare feet and plunges off the rope swing into the nearby pond!

 

DSC_0934-199x300This is a list of all the various places I’ve “traveled” this summer!  Thanks for coming along for the ride!

Tuesday, July 24th –  Kate Daniels, 10 am, KRWM-FM Seattle. 30 min, Taped, with Sunday Morning Magazine.  This will air in a couple of weeks and will be available by podcast. I’ll let you know when I have it!

Monday, July 23rd – 2pm, Lite FM.com/Wild, The Mike Fitzgerald Show, National Syndicated

Monday, July 16th, 2012 – Radio Interview – Lifestyle Talk Radio with Frankie Boyer, 11:45 am

Saturday, July 7th, 2012 – Signing books at the Bradford, NH Arts and Artisans Gathering, Bradford Town Hall, Main Street  Ok, I did have to leave my living room for this one, but boy was it worth it because I met a woman who had a preemie and runs an incredible non-profit called, The Artist Loft.  I’m going to write an entire blog post about her later!

Friday, June 29th, 2012 – Radio interview, Tron Simpson, Tron in the Morning, KCMN-AM Colorado Springs, CO 9:30 am

Thursday, June 28th, 2012 – NHPR radio interview on Word of Mouth with Virginia Prescott, 12:00 pm

Wednesday, June 27th, 2012 – Radio Interview – The Kathryn Zox Show – Voice America Network  To Listen to the podcast, click here

Tuesday, June 26th, 2012 – Radio Interview – The Vic McCarthy Show WMKT-AM Michigan 11:10 am

Tuesday, June 19th, 2012 – NYC to film video segment for Yahoo!’s program  The Shine

Thursday, June 14, 2012, 8:10am – WPHM-AM Detroit Live Morning Show with host Paul Miller

Wednesday, June 13, 2012, 11:00 – Radio Interview, Doctor Radio Sirius XM with Dr. Dan Rausch

Sunday, June 3, 2012, 6am – Radio Interview, Conversations with Peter Solomon, Philadelphia.  This was my first radio interview – Live at 6am! I was a nervous wreck, but once the interview began, I realized it was just like having a phone conversation with a friend!  I’ve done that once or twice before!

Here are some of the places Preemie has traveled on the web!

Random House’s Website –  http://www.biographile.com/qa-preemie-author-kasey-mathews-on-choosing-love-over-fear/3096/

Walking on My Hands– http://walkingonmyhands.com/2012/07/16/preemie-and-giveaway/

Zoe Rose Foundation – http://3sorrells.blogspot.com/2012/05/preemielessons-in-love-life-motherhood.html

Hand to Hold’s website – Preemiebabies101 – http://www.preemiebabies101.com/2012/05/lessons-in-preemie-motherhood/

Teachers and Twits – http://rasjacobson.com/2012/05/29/interview-with-author-kaseymathews-giveaway-of-preemie/

Jenny Hansen’s More Cowbell – http://jennyhansenauthor.wordpress.com/2012/06/16/risky-baby-business-5-facts-about-premature-birth/

Authors in the Kitchen – http://rosemarydibattista.com/blog/2012/06/authors-in-the-kitchen-kasey-mathews/

Tethered Mommy – http://www.tetheredmommy.com/2012/07/preemie-by-kasey-mathews-review-and-qa/  

Crazed Mind – http://theysayimnuts.blogspot.com/2012/05/help-me-rename-my-daughter.html

Motherhood Mindfully – http://motherhood-mindfully.blogspot.com/2012/06/mindful-reading-preemie.html

Frugal Plus – http://www.frugalplus.com/2012/06/preemie-lessons-in-love-life-and.html       

My Springfield Mommy – http://www.myspringfieldmommy.com/2012/06/preemie-lessons-in-love.html

Save More Spend Less –http://smslwithheidi.com/2012/06/preemie-review.html         

Hire to Inspire – http://hiretoinspire.blogspot.ca/2012/06/preemie-lessons-in-love-life-and.html

Moms Saving Money –  http://momssavingmoney.com/book-review-preemie/

Crafty Mommy Diva (giveaway until July 29th) – http://craftymommydiva.blogspot.com/2012/07/70th-mommy-mondays-march-of-dimes.html         

Number Crunching Mama – http://goo.gl/F4lAV            

Emily’s Reviews –http://www.emilyreviews.com/2012/07/preemie-lessons-in-love-life-and-motherhood-by-kasey-matthews-review.html      

Take It From Me – http://www.takeitfrom-me.com/2012/07/preemie-lessons-in-love-life-and.html       

And hopefully there will be many more to come!  I’ll keep you posted as they do!

The Shine interview goes live sometime after 12 pm on August 8th, which just happens to be my 45th birthday! How’s that for timing?!

And the night before (August 7th) I’ll be joining in the Lake Placid – Saranac Lake Book Clubs to discuss Preemie on the back deck of Bookstore Plus overlooking Mirror Lake!  

If your book group is reading Preemie let me know and perhaps I can arrange to be there!  Skype is also a great option if distance is an issue!

Thanks again everyone for all your tremendous support!

May your summer days be filled with light and love!

 

Could She Really Be Talking About My Book?

This review is like a dream come true.  I think I’ll have to frame it and hang it up on my wall!

If you leave a comment over on Pam’s website, she’ll enter your name for a chance to win a copy of Preemie!  Yippee!

Preemie (And Giveaway)

July 16, 2012

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Kasey Mathews and her family

Your story and mine are sure to be different, but if hearing my story allows you a moment away from yours, if it leaves you with a sense of hope, then this story was worth writing down – from Preemie, by Kasey Mathews

So begins Kasey Mathew’s beautiful memoir, Preemie: Lessons in Life, Love, and Motherhood. I was in the passenger seat of my car when I first read this sentence and Scott was steering the car down the 395 out of Alexandria, out of Virginia, out of my life for two years and into North Carolina. We had left the boys with my parents for four days and were going down to try to find a house near the Marine base, Camp Lejeune. What I remember about that April day was the sun through the windshield and the blue sky and Mathew’s words: if it leaves you with a sense of hope, then this story was worth writing down.

The next few pages took me surely and swiftly away from my life and onto the pitching and turning roller coaster that was hers in late November of 2000 when she went into the hospital halfway through her pregnancy because she hadn’t been feeling well. Mathew’s writing is clean and sharp with intense imagery and dialogue that makes you feel as though you are eavesdropping. Add to this that Mathews is a masterful story-teller, creating not just a narrative about what happened but a thriller that will whip you around sharp corners and through the blinding chiaroscuro of light and dark that was her life the during first five years after giving birth to her 1 pound 11 ounce daughter, Andie. Before I read Preemie,I knew that Mathews had set out to write this book to comfort other women who had or will give birth to premature babies, the ones who have to defy odds in order to take a single, unassisted breath. But what she did was to write a book that is both a comfort and a tribute to anyone who has had to stare disaster in the face. In the first chapter, she writes with shattering clarity about those early hours in Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. when she found out that she wasn’t ill but in labor five months early…

To read the rest of this gorgeous review, click here!

Don’t forget to leave a comment over there!

By the way, if you’ve ever thought about following a blog, this is one you don’t want to miss! As you can see, Pam’s writing is simply exquisite!  Clickhere and enter you’re email address in the subscription bar.  That way you’ll never miss an entry!

Happy Day!

Radio Interview

I’m on the radio today being interviewed by Frankie Boyer! The show plays live at 11:00 eastern on www.businesstalkradio.net I’ll be on at about 11:45. The show is replayed at 3pm on www.lifestyletalkradio.com.
The Frankie Boyer Show
The most amazing review of Preemie coming tomorrow!
And just found out my interview on Yahoo!’s program The Shine goes live next Monday, July 23rd!
Hope you’re all well and enjoying summer! XO

NHPR Radio

I met Virginia Prescott at a writer’s gathering last summer.

I’d been assessing the gathering crowd, convincing myself that somehow I belonged among a group of writers, poets and artists alike, when I noticed her.  Well, not so much her, but the long, to the floor, aquamarine halter dress she was wearing.

I swear my mom had worn the same dress in 1972.  DAY-D3010-01

When I approached her and told her how much I loved her dress, I’m so glad I had no idea who she was.

Because, in fact, I did know who she was. Her lovely voice fills the air in my car nearly every day at noon.

Knowing only her first name, I talked freely about writing and blogging and social media and most likely dress styles of the 1970s.

It wasn’t until she said she’d like to hear more about my book and my blog and handed me her business card, that the puzzle pieces fell into place.

“You’re Virginia Prescott?” I said looking down at the NHPR logo on the rectangle of card stock.  My mind quickly tried to replay all the ridiculous things I must have said in our conversation, while at the same time my mouth blurted out,  “You’re too gorgeous for radio.”

She’d just laughed before telling me to shoot her an email and walking away.

“Virginia Prescott?  Her voice is a smile on the radio,” my husband said when I told him about meeting her.

And sitting across from her in the studio last week, I couldn’t have agreed more.  From the moment she began talking, to the moment she asked me one of her thoughtful, engaging, signature questions and offered me a reassuring smile, I forgot all about the headphones and the silver microphone, and the producers in the control room on the other side of the glass and that she was Virginia Prescott.

She was just Virginia, the woman in the really cool dress I’d met at a party last summer.

And we were just having a conversation.

A conversation you can listen to here.

Preemie Review

This was such a nice review that I wanted to share with all of you!  It comes from Maggie who keeps a wonderful blog called Tethered Mommy.

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Enjoy and if you do please let Maggie know by leaving a comment or sharing with your friends!

Hope you had a great 4th!  Happy Birthday Dad!

Preemie by Kasey Mathews – Review and Q&A

2012/07/03 By Maggie

Preemie: Lessons in Love, Life, and Motherhood is a book by Kasey Mathews.  In this book, she details her daughter, Andie’s struggles as a preemie, far after she left the NICU.

I received this book and immediately dove in and read it start to finish in about 2 days.  I love memoirs about babies and pregnancy and this was no different.  I know I am very fortunate in that my children have been born healthy and ready to go right home with me. However, I do know many people who have not been as fortunate so this book helped me learn more about what they may have had to go through.  I like to think that this book would also help some repeat questions about the NICU and preemies in general.

What I found particularly fascinating was Mathews’ use of holistic, non-traditional medicine to help Andie overcome any lasting obstacles.  I really think this is not explained enough in the book description and should be highlighted more, as there many people out there who would surely benefit from Andie’s experiences.  I also think that Mathews would do well to write another book…

To read the entire review please click here!

Happy Friday!  Have a great weekend!