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What to Write When Nothing is Coming to You

You should write a blog, I’ve been told. You should stay in touch with your readers, my guilty conscience nagged me. And, all along I kept thinking: Just one more thing to do. But then, I love to write. I write emails that sometimes become missives about things I’ve seen and done, and I’ve written stories, and moreover I love hearing what my friends make of it all. I love starting dialogues. And isn’t this what a blog is all about?

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What I’ve Been Up To…

My website and Facebook page have been silent far too long. I can honestly say it’s because I’ve been writing, and I suppose that’s a great reason. I’m nearing the completion of a loosely-termed memoir—loose, meaning the stories are based on events from my life, but some have a fictional twist simply because I can’t quite remember how it was. Isn’t memory such an illusive thing. I actually like Roman á Clef: “a real life story with an overlay of fiction.” Yes, I like that. My book, with no title yet (Right now, I’m calling it Rules for Being American), is based in the late 1960s and early 70s and will be ready for publication some time next year. Fingers crossed.

The Wolf Children

I’ve also been researching a subject that will not let me sleep — the Wolf Children of East Prussia, a book that needs to be written! Much information is available in German, but very little in English (see the trailer of the award-winning film by Rick Ostermann, Wolfskinder.). When this important and forgotten piece of history is published, I will write you, I will write you personally, and I will beg you, Please read this, the story of 20,000 German children who were abandoned behind the Iron Curtain, not to be heard from again until late in the 1990s. Many survived on their own, living in forests and barns. Some were adopted but only secretly, as the Soviets made it illegal to aid them in any way. Some, especially the very young, integrated into their new culture, learning a new language, Lithuanian. But it is not unreasonable to state: All endured unimaginable hardships. Several hundred are still alive today and their stories are finally being heard. As I said, this is a book I will beg you to read.

The mind rarely speaks in linear fashion, rarely gives you information in chronological order. Rather it speaks in images, and metaphors, like how things work in the dreams…

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The Historic Truce of 1914

1914, in the days leading up to Christmas, a strange thing happened in the trenches. After months of fighting with no end in sight, the promise that war would be over by Christmas felt like a cruel joke to soldiers on both sides.

But in these final days of the year, one morning no shots were fired. The Germans had decided to eat breakfast before fighting. According to British accounts, this new routine suited them well, and they too began having breakfast first, not taking up arms until nearly 11:00. Read more …

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Hope from Scotland

MAKAR’S WELCOME

The Scottish government sends all its newborns a gift. It’s a “baby box” that converts into a real bed. Packed inside, the new parents will find an assortment of essentials: clothing, diapers, books, a mattress, sheets and changing mats. Now, by summer of 2017, the wee one will also receive a poem. It was written by Scotland’s Poet Laureate, Jackie Kay, known in her country as a makar. “Scotland’s Baby Box is a strong signal of our determination that every child, regardless of their circumstances, should get the best start in life,” said Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon. Read more …

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Boulder County Homes & Gardens: 3 Articles from Kerstin

I’ve recently published several articles in Boulder County Homes & Garden. From the value of biking to revolutionary building materials, these articles are relevant to our times and offer compelling, intelligent viewpoints, as well as thinking-outside-the-box inspiration. Read more …

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About Kerstin Lieff

WINNER 2013 Colorado Book Award

WINNER – 2013 Colorado Book Award in Biography for “Letters From Berlin” – announced yesterday in Aspen. Read more …

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