In 1870, there were over thirty thousand children living on the streets of New York and many more who wandered in and out of cellars and tenements as their familes struggled to scrape together enough income to put food on the table. Under the mentorship of sister physicians Drs. Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell, my great-great grandmother (Dr. Sarah F. Mackintosh) and her classmates worked tirelessly to care for such children. They faced fierce opposition from the medical establishment as well as from society. Riots formed outside the doors of the infirmary, and funding was difficult to obtain. It was their …
Search Results for: Virgin cure past and present
It was my father who gave me my name. Mama said it came to him at a place called Pear Tree Corner – “whispered by a tree so old it knew all the secrets of New York.” The apothecary who owned the storefront there told my father that he could ask the tree any question he liked and if he listened hard enough it would answer. My father believed him. – from The Virgin Cure New York Minute # 3 – Pear Tree Corner Several readers of my novel, The Virgin Cure have recently asked, “Was there really a Pear …
My earliest memories involve music and the stage. I clearly remember the day a shiny new spinet piano was brought through the front door of my childhood home—the way the keys moved under my fingers and the amazement I felt at the sounds it made. I also remember being a spunky four-year-old standing atop a cafeteria table at the local nursing home where my grandfather lived, belting “I Want to go to Chicago Town” at the top of my lungs. From that moment on, my life was consumed by music—studying, creating, teaching, and performing it. It was my first language, …
Q. Can you tell us how you became a writer? A. It started with a “Thank-You” note. All through high school, university, and grad school I wrote in secret, keeping thoughts, ideas, short stories and dreadful poetry in notebooks under by bed. My New Year’s resolution for the year 2000 (after much prodding from my husband) was to start putting my writing out into the world. So, I declared 2000 to be “the year of sending thank-you notes to people I didn’t know.” My first letter led to a guest appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show (and that was …
Connecting With Creativity – The Ellie Poem There is a poem that’s affectionately known as “the Ellie poem” in writing classes around the world. Although I have never found an accurate and detailed description of how this poem came about, I can say that the original ‘Ellie’ was written by a woman named Eleanor Wait in 1967. It was titled: “Ellie: An Inventory of Being.” In the fumbling eloquence of young womanhood she shares her ideas about exactly who she is. She writes it for herself, listing dreams alongside fleeting thoughts. In my opinion, everyone should try to compose their …
An Exclusive behind-the-scenes look at The Birth House from Harper Perennial. The Birth House by Ami McKay About the Author Life at a Glance Born: 1968. Indiana, USA. Educated: Indiana State University (Music Education and Musicology). Career: High school music teacher. Then, freelance writer and producer of radio documentaries. Now, first-time novelist. Family: Married to Ian. Two sons. Lives: In an old birth house in Nova Scotia, Canada. A Writing Life: A Conversation with Ami McKay When do you write? In the afternoon. Sometimes I skip dinner and keep going into the night. Where do you write? I have …