Debbie LaChusa

Writing is Prohibited

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The email landed in my inbox on Saturday afternoon. That’s when they always arrive. Every week, a new chapter released, with video and text lessons, interviews, suggested reading, and of course writing exercises. The subject line read, Writing is Prohibited. I breathed a sigh of relief. After beginning the memoir writing course with an excited …

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From Journalism student to Aspiring Memoirist

My journey as a writer began in college. I studied journalism, advertising, and marketing at San Diego State University. It was an interesting combination of liberal arts and commerce. Writing to communicate and writing to persuade and sell. I wrote everything from marketing copy to magazine articles. I even served as senior editor of the …

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Dad loved to read

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This is my very first writing exercise from a memoir writing course. The assignment was to write a profile of a person in 200 words. The chair sits empty now, as does the house. The blue recliner positioned just in front of the television. But watching TV wasn’t its primary purpose. Reading was. A retired …

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Lucky Dog

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As he handed me off to my future husband, the words escaped quietly from his mouth, “Lucky Dog.” The crowded church was full of wedding guests but those words meant for just two people: my fiancé and me. The softly spoken phrase fell from his lips through a wide smile, his eyes focused directly on …

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Author vs. Writer

I’ve written for as long as I can remember. I majored in Journalism in college. But I never considered myself a writer. I was a business person and marketer who wrote, a woman who journaled. I wrote with an agenda: to educate, market, sell, share, and understand and process life. Professionally, I labeled myself an …

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Why Memoir? Why Now?

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I’ve felt called to write a memoir for more than a year. Coincidentally, I realized I’ve been reading memoir for the past few years. Always a nonfiction reader, my previous book choices were usually in the personal development or self help genre. I read to learn, to grow, to understand life… mine and other people’s. …

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