5th Annual San Diego Memoir Showcase Memoir Showcase Winners: Q & A with Nicola Ranson & Susan J. Farese
SJF: In a nutshell – tell us about your winning memoir piece for the 5th Annual San Diego Memoir Showcase.
NR: “The Visit” is an excerpt from my upcoming memoir, “A Slice of Orange” which is about my years as a participant in the Rajneesh cult in Oregon.
SJF: What has your experience been taking classes/workshops and writing memoir in San Diego?
NR: I’ve attended the First Annual San Diego Writers Festival produced by Marni Freedman, Jeniffer Thompson, San Diego Writers, Ink, San Diego Memoir Writers’ Association in partnership with the San Diego Library. I’ve attended a class in hybrid publishing and have presented on memoir and mental health. As a therapist I see the benefits of both reading and writing memoir. I belong to one of the read and critique groups.
SJF: If you had a magic wand, what kind of opportunities would be available to memoir writers in San Diego?
NR: I would like all memoir writers-active or nascent-to have the benefit of a supportive writing community. Before I knew about the Memoir Writers’ Association, I created my own support group with writing friends and it has helped each of us to become more confident to follow our writing dreams. Writing is a solitary endeavor and knowing that others share some of the same challenges can be so helpful. Plus, those interested in publishing can use the collective wisdom of those who’ve ventured into that terrain.
SJF: What are you excited about when it comes to participating in the 5th Annual Memoir Showcase?
NR: I am excited to let go of a piece of writing and see how someone else interprets it. As my story is about part of my life that I largely keep to myself – (former cult membership), it is also a kind of “coming out”. (Which has been made a lot easier since NetFlix’s release of “Wild Wild Country” bringing a forgotten piece of Oregon’s history into the spotlight.) When something so personal becomes public I think we can all learn something. For example, we tend to think of cults as the experience of “other”, and don’t consider that perhaps we too are encapsulated in our own belief systems.
SJF: What advice would you give to a new writer in San Diego?
NR: Just write. The rest will unfold. Trusting our innate creativity is supporting the life force – and isn’t that a good thing? Getting a piece of writing to be better is a long and painful process, but if you focus on that at the beginning it can freeze you completely.
SJF: Favorite Memoirs?
NR: I am in the middle of reading Edith Eger’s “The Choice”. Anyone who writes a memoir at age 90 is an inspiration. Her story of holocaust survival is important and necessary – what a loss it would be to all of us if she hadn’t written it. I like Tara Westover’s “Educated” and am glad such a brave story has made it to the best seller list.
SJF: Many thanks, Nicola!
Bio: Nicola is a long-time Encinitas resident, writer and psychotherapist. Her publications include: The Feisty Writer https://thefeistywriter.com/2019/07/31/birdsong-of-discernment-530am/, Stage Directions, Advanced Computer Entertainment and Somatic Psychotherapy Today, as well as problem columns for people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease and those seeking the wisdom of fairies. Nicola lives in Leucadia with her film maker husband, Ron with whom she has recently co-written the screenplay for, “Tattooed Trucks of Nepal – Horn Please.” She’s now working on her memoir “A Slice of Orange.” Her Encinitas psychotherapy practice is Tea and Empathy Counseling: www.teaempathy.com.
Photo courtesy of Don Kelson