Where would we be without hope? It’s what fuels our dreams and loves.
But this past year has tested us all, lots of hope and frustration, with the war in Gaza and Ukraine (the birthplace of my parents), and AI threatening many livelihoods and our climate, which is already under duress. So much is out of our control. Though I grieve when I see bad news, I’m an optimist by nature, so I continue to look for that silver lining.
Looking for the Silver Lining
As I mentioned in a previous newsletter, I’m dealing with severe back issues, but I try to look for that silver lining. I’ve travelled far, and now, that I’m more limited, I look for pleasures close to home, like my husband and family, my writing, books to read, and the joy of nature, like the humming bird that entertains me from my office window.
As for world issues, we do what we can, by contributing to our causes, writing to politicians, consuming responsibly, acting in good faith with others, celebrating our cultures, and taking care of ourselves and our families. All this is within our control. This is where we find the silver lining and keep up our hope for a better future.
Here’s Judy Garland singing LOOK FOR THE SILVER LINING, a song from my early childhood. Have a listen then come back to this page. 🙂 I have wonderful memories of Hollywood musicals on the big screen.
Inspirational Books
Inspirational books work on lifting people’s spirits, helping them realize they can do something about a bad situation, and find the silver lining.
A recent bestseller, Let Them by Mel Robbins, encourages people to not fret about what we can’t control. Instead, it advises the reader to let go of the need to control others and focus instead on their own pursuit of personal happiness and other goals.
The message from that book is basically a twist on the same encouraging one I give in Along Came A Gardener, my motivational self-help book. When we get bogged down and frustrated with a loved one or a co-worker, I emphasize “that we can’t control anyone else’s behaviour, but we can control our own. If we change what we’re doing, the other party will not respond in the same way. It’ll break the unhealthy pattern and make room for a healthier one.”
My New Book and Cover Reveal
I’m in the home stretch of publishing my short story collection, A House Full of Strangers. My book’s been edited, I’ve gone through the revisions (as suggested by my editor), and now I’m in the proofreading phase.
And I have a book cover. Sound the trumpets because that’s how I feel. Thrilled to get this far. The house on the cover is the house I lived in from the time I was 8 until I got married at 19. I plan to release the book in late spring 2026.
The text that will go on the back cover of the paperback may look like this:
After surviving the Great Depression, many Ukrainian immigrants left the heartache of farming and went to Winnipeg to try their luck. To supplement their income from blue-collar jobs, some rented rooming houses, and hoped in time they would own their own. And then there were those who added to their rental income by selling homebrew.
Set in the 1940s and 1950s in Winnipeg, Manitoba, A House Full of Strangers is a collection of fictional short stories based on true tales about Ukrainian immigrants, their families and those who rented rooms from them.
Diana Stevan, the author of the award-winning Sunflowers Under Fire, is the daughter of Ukrainian immigrants. She spent her childhood and teenage years living in a rooming house.
Rooming House Blues
Given our inflationary times, I’m sure the next few years will spawn more rooming house stories. So many can’t afford to rent a condo and will end up renting a room like they did in the 1950s. There will be more stories showing hope and frustration, that curious mix of feelings we all have when world and other events are not in our control.
Writing Hopes and Frustration
Hope is what has kept me working on A House Full of Strangers, despite my frustration with my back, which I’m trying to manage with physiotherapy, common sense, and no surgery. Hopefully, I can keep the surgeon’s knife away.
But joy of joy, I can sit and write and not feel pain. I just have to remember to get up from my chair and stretch my back every 15 minutes. 🙂
And now that this book of short stories is well on its way, I can get back to the novel I’m writing, and finish narrating the audiobook of Along Came A Gardener.
What I’m Reading
I read the wonderful novel Dancer by Colum McCann, based on the ballet dancer Rudolph Nuryev’s family life in Soviet Russia, and his life when he became a world superstar. A fascinating read by a brilliant author.
I’m currently reading The St. Julian’s Killing by Karen Dodd, a prequel story to the excellent Everybody Knows: a Nicolo Moretti Crime Thriller. My husband who’s also read this book by Karen Dodd, compares her style to John Grisham. An exhiliarating read for those who love crime thrillers!
Christmas Gifts
If you are planning on giving a book for Christmas, I’d encourage you to get your order in as soon as possible, as paperback printing takes time. If you have a favourite bookstore, you can ask them to bring it in, but it’s likely faster with Amazon at this time of year. If you’re interested in any of my books, I’ve given you online links to my books below.
Lukia’s Family Saga—Sunflowers Under Fire, Lilacs in the Dust Bowl, and Paper Roses on Stony Mountain—can be read as a trilogy or each book can be read as a standalone. The series is based on the true story of my grandmother and family’s life in Ukraine during WWI and its aftermath, and in Canada during the Great Depression and early years of WWII. I’ve posted the link with each title if you want to know more. This historical fiction series is both inspiring, heartwarming, and heartbreaking.
And then there’s my latest book, Along Came A Gardener, written for anyone thinking of going for counselling or anyone wanting some ways of managing their difficult relationships. Over 25 years working in a variety of settings, including private practice, I met people from all walks of life, who came to me for help with their personal problems, whether in the workplace, home, or community. I’m grateful for their stories, and their trust. Anyone interested in self-help and personal growth, will find this book helpful.
Hope was what inspired me to write Along Came A Gardener. As a clinical social worker, I had helped a young woman, who was suicidal. She wrote me a poem called The Seed of Hope, suggesting I was the gardener who came along and planted the seed of hope. My book gives tips on riding life’s emotional roller coaster. In it, I share what I know about anger and stress management, addictions, depression, and other family and personal mental health challenges.
But if you’re looking romance, mystery, and adventure, you’ll enjoy reading A Cry from the Deep. This novel is about Catherine Fitzgerald, an underwater photographer, who’s now a divorced and single mother living on a lavender farm in Provence. She’s wooed back to diving by the editor of National Geographic, who wants her to cover a dive led by a notorious salvager off the coast of Ireland for one of the lost ships of the Spanish Armada.
But before Catherine goes to Ireland, she buys an old Claddagh ring at a flea market in New York and begins to have dreams and visions of a woman from another time. Why she’s haunting Catherine becomes as mysterious as the treasure hunt in the Irish Sea. A handsome but unavailable marine archaeologist on the dive team and her ex, a psychiatrist in New York (who still loves her), complicate Catherine’s life. She thought she had given up on love.
And then there’s The Rubber Fence (women’s fiction), the book that was inspired by my work on a psychiatric ward. It’s a story of three women: a psychiatric intern who risks her career and marriage when she tries to stop an arrogant psychiatrist from shocking her patients, a mute young mother and an elderly woman who’s already been shocked too many times. Set in the 1970s, it could easily have been set today, because shock treatment continues to be the treatment of choice many psychiatrists use when they feel they’ve run out of options.
My Substack Newsletter
This post first appeared in my Substack Newsletter, Hearts and Pages. I don’t always repeat myself on my blog, so if you’re interested in my latest Book News or the odd opinion I may throw your way, please subscribe.
Season’s Greetings
Robert and I wish you a very Merry Christmas, or Happy Hanukkah, or a blessed Kwanzaa. We continue to hope and pray for peace in the Middle East and in Ukraine. Thank you for your readership and I look forward to sharing more news and thoughts in 2026.
