Reader Views Reviewer Places Stricken on Must-Have List

July 22, 2009

Carol Hoyer, PhD, a professor of psychology and reviewer at Reader Views, describes Spike Gillespie and Katherine Tanney’s collection Stricken: The 5,000 Stages of Grief as “an excellent book that can and should be kept on our bookshelves and read frequently.”  Hoyer exults in the authenticity of the experiences of loss related in the work, and finds them both “inspiring and encouraging.”  For Hoyer, the words of each contributor come across sincerely and compassionately, and have a profound impact on the reader as an individual.

All in all, Hoyer says, “this is a book I have put on my students’ ‘must have list.’”

Read the full review here…

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Revisting a Celebration of Life, Loss, and Love

April 16, 2009

by Neil Kahn

Though a week stale, I want to recap the incredible evening hosted by Cafe Caffeine celebrating Stricken: The 5,000 Stages of Grief on Thursday, April 9.

Our wonderful co-editor Katherine Tanney emceed the event, introducing local Stricken writers and a staple of local creatives who read aloud from essays written by out-of-towners. Playwright C. Denby Swanson kick-started the emotional evening, reading from Los Angeles author Rachel Resnick’s essay “Touch Me.” To follow, our own Owen Egerton, diverging from his typically hilarious prose, shared an excerpt from “Holiest of Times,” a heartwarming account juxtaposing the recent birth of his daughter with the death of his grandfather — at the time, the youngest and the oldest in the family. Local actress Amanda Poston shared from Mylene Dressler’s “Flying Dutchman,” and Victoria Hendricks left the audience teary eyed and wet faced, sharing a letter written to her first husband who she lost to cancer twenty one years ago. And, true to expectations, performance artist and poet David Jewell entertained with his interpretation of author Jim Krusoe’s “Memorial - for L.H.”

Sandy Silver shifted the mood, speaking without a mic, sharing memories of her son Chris, to whom Stricken is dedicated, and offering bits of advice for helping others in grief. Leslie Belt, local filmmaker and funny person, read aloud from Amy Friedman’s essay of unconventional love, “New Year’s Day,” and to follow David Zuniga, the first westerner ordained a priest in the largest lineage of Korean Zen, spoke on life and death from a Buddhist perspective. Dalton senior editor, poet, and author Ric Williams shared the heart-wrenching epigraph he contributed to the book, and in closing, Katherine Tanney brought the audience to simultaneous bouts of laughter and tears as she read from her essay, “The End of Grief,” a re-telling of the last conversation she and her mother shared before her mother’s death.

Thank you to everyone who read and attended! You made this such a special and moving evening.

View photos of the event here

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Line-Up for “Stricken” Reading Tonight

April 9, 2009

by Neil Kahn

Please join us tonight, April 9, at 7 p.m. at Cafe Caffeine (909 W. Mary) in South Austin for a very special celebration honoring the recent release of Stricken: The 5,000 Stages of Grief. Katherine Tanney hosts, contributors to the book will read selections from their essays, and guest readers from Austin’s creative community will interpret the work of some of the out-of-town contributors.

The line-up for the evening is listed below:
C. Denby Swanson (reading “Touch Me” by Rachel Resnick)
Owen Egerton
Amanda Poston (in place of Amparo Garcia-Crow, reading “Flying Dutchman” by Mylene Dressler)
Victoria Hendricks
David Jewell (reading “Memorial - for L.H.” by Jim Krusoe)
Sandy Silver
Leslie Belt (reading “New Year’s Day” by Amy Friedman)
David Zuniga
Katherine Tanney

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Katherine Tanney Hosts Celebration for “Stricken”

March 31, 2009

by Neil Kahn

On Thursday, April 9, at 7 p.m., Dalton Publishing presents a very special evening at Cafe Caffeine in South Austin to celebrate the publication of Stricken: The 5000 Stages of Grief. This moving collection of essays is co-edited by local, award-winning authors Spike Gillespie and Katherine Tanney.

Not only is this event free and happening at a cool coffee house, it will feature guest readers from Austin’s creative community interpreting the work of some of our out-of-town contributors.

Poet and performance artist David Jewell, actress and playwright Amparo Garcia-Crow, filmmaker/funny person Leslie Belt, and playwright C. Denby Swanson will share the bill with Stricken writers Owen Egerton, Sandy Silver, Victoria Hendricks, David Zuniga, and the evening’s host, Katherine Tanney.

Each reader will share a 10-12 minute excerpt from one of the essays in the book. The subject matter is love, loss, and the grieving process in its many forms. Prepare to be moved.

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Stricken Essay Adapted for New York Times Column

February 17, 2009

On Sunday, February 15, the “Modern Love” column in The New York Times ran an essay by Los Angeles-based writer Amy Friedman, which was originally written for an anthology due out by Dalton Publishing in March, entitled Stricken: The 5,000 Stages of Grief. Friedman’s essay, “Kept Together by the Bars Between Us” (“New Year’s Day” in Stricken), tells the story of her atypical marriage to a prisoner serving a 13-years-to-life sentence for murder. Friedman’s fascinating story of an unconventional relationship perfectly portrays the “Modern Love” column’s intention to bring light to the complexities of love in its various, often contemporary, forms.

Read the entire essay here…

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Grief Cannot Be Gotten Over–It Must Be Gotten Through

January 19, 2009

Grief Cannot Be Gotten Over–It Must Be Gotten Through

Dalton Publishing releases Stricken: The 5,000 Stages of Grief, an anthology edited by award-winning authors, Spike Gillespie and Katherine Tanney.

Austin, Texas (PRWEB) January 19, 2009 — The first essay collection released by Dalton Publishing, Stricken: The 5,000 Stages of Grief is edited by award-winning authors Spike Gillespie (Pissed Off: On Women and Anger) and Katherine Tanney (Carousel of Progress). The book is a collection of essays on grief written by a variety of contributors including best-selling authors and award-winning writers Rachel Resnick, Owen Egerton, Margaret Moser, and Hope Edelman. Stricken will be released in March 2009.

Read the entire release here…

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