I have made a tree-of-life quilt with heart-shaped leaves that resembles my memoir cover. The tree holds a carefully stitched leaf for each person who walked with me during a six-decade journey, described in Patchwork: A Memoir of Love and Loss. Some leaves represent brief encounters, while others have been lifelong.

I’m honored that, following these lovely October days, Kathleen Pooler will publish my post about falling in love with patchwork on her blog, “Memoir Writer’s Journey.”

Many have said they’d like to see the quilt. I’m happy that with the story, Kathleen will feature the first photo ever published. When the story and photo appear, I’ll post a link on my blog that will take you to “Memoir Writers Journey.” I invite you to visit and see memoir revealed not with words, but rather with fabric, color, stitches, and arrangement. Light colors, for me, represent happy stories while the dark fabrics symbolize darker ones.

I have come to appreciate the powerful ability a quilt holds with both light and darkness. When you look at the whole, the blend of dark and light come together to create a breathtaking beauty. I love thinking of that blended beauty as an analogy for our lives.

I hope you will visit and enjoy the experience. Please know I’d love to hear your thoughts.