 Marla Miller
Dear ________: Loveyoubye, a memoir, is the story of a woman at a crossroads. X's 25-year marriage has become unbearable, her job is being eliminated, and she’s faced with having to return home to South Africa to rescue her mentally impaired brother, the source of a lifetime of angst and guilt. Her struggle to help her brother gives her the key to her past and her future. She vows that from now on she will live her life with two questions uppermost in mind: Is this making me happy? Is this moving me forward? Holding fast to this mantra, she learns to trust herself and finds the courage to move forward. Her two lovable dogs play a key part in the story.
Recalling the intimacy of Breakup: The End of a Love Story, and in the literary style of Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, this story is about holding fast to a dream even as it becomes a nightmare, not trusting oneself, and allowing a childhood incident to poison a relationship.
I'm a fourth-generation white African who finally made it to America, country of my dreams, where I now write about the wild old days of my childhood as well as the wild new days of my chosen life. I’ve taken several writers workshops nationally, including one at the University of Iowa and a number of memoir workshops with Ana Maria Spagna. An excerpt from Loveyoubye appeared in the anthology Interstices in May of this year. In 2002, I was awarded “Best Fiction” at the San Diego Writers Conference, and, in 2007, took second place at the Maui Writers Conference. A complete manuscript of Loveyoubye, at 63,000 words, is available upon request.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
[Name withheld] |