Dr. Gladys McGarey
Is the cure for what ails you.
Dr. Gladys McGarey is my favorite kind of protagonist. She's a curious lifelong learner and general badass not afraid to laugh at herself. Dr. Gladys grew up in India with missionary parents. She entered medical school in the 1940’s. She founded the American Holistic Medical Association in her living room (she’s compassionate enough to share her house was typically not especially tidy). She had 6 kids. She endured things in her personal and professional life. As one example, her husband surprised her with a divorce when she was 70. She had some anger about this for a while, but figured out how to release that anger. Dr. Gladys claims she found her voice at age 93.
My claim is that you should read this book, post haste.
The Well-Lived Life: A 102-Year-Old Doctor's Six Secrets to Health and Happiness at Every Age
I listened to Dr. Glady’s book on audio. Before the final credits rolled I ordered up new copies to foist upon my nearest and dearest (and one lucky person who received it for a White Elephant gift exchange at a former workplace. That guy has no idea the person from whom he once rescinded a promised $1/hour raise improved his life. Thanks to Dr. Gladys message, I just wished him well).
Special things about this book:
Boundaries for the “real world.” Finally! The way she writes about boundaries is so refreshing. A welcome break from boundary advice that requires so much work from the person trying to maintain boundaries without alienating half the people they know.
Ideal blend of woo + not-too-woo. Dr. Gladys uses approaches from conventional and holistic medicine in her practice and for herself.
It’s simple. Dr. Gladys does not require a person to wake up super early, give up all their favorite foods, or make lists of things.
One of the people to whom I sent this book texted me saying, “this book is great! I’m going to re-read it when I finish.” Some days later I got another update, “This was the best book! I’m buying multiple copies to give away and re-reading it again now.” In other words, don’t take my word for it. Take my parents’ friend Lori’s word for it.
You can order Dr. Glady’s book via BookShop (my affiliate link), your own favorite place to buy books, or, if you can STAND to wait for the paperback, Dr. Gladys herself is running a cool special. If you preorder the paperback (out April) through her website, you’ll be in a drawing to win a free, one-hour Life Consultation with Dr. Gladys her very own self.
My process: I drafted a novel in 2023!
I am DELIGHTED to report that over the past year, I went from no words in a document, to a drafty first draft of my first novel. Contempoary fiction, complicated intergenerational relationships in a small, East Texas town. I started using a distraction-minimizing text editor + Excel to keep track of what was where, how much progress I made, and so on. I finished the year with Scrivener and a printed, marked-up draft. I finally hole-punched it and put it into a binder. I’m so proud to have a binder.
Non-exhaustive list of helpful tools to get me unstuck this year:
Jane Freidman’s website & course offerings
Donald Maas’ The Emotional Craft of Fiction, the exercise on page 22 is magic for me.
- ’s course on Playful Writing offered via Craft Talks
Jenny Nash’s Blueprint for a Book
Book Coach Lidija Hilje’s Novel with Meaning Course
Weekday group co-writing sessions I found via Allison K. Williams
Being a beta reader for someone else (she had a binder!)
During the weeklong Thanksgiving break, my husband and kids left for my in-laws several days before I did.
Two more things:
This parking garage exit makes quite a lofty promise.
I faciliate the Morning Mile walking/running program at my kids’ school (it’s like this). If you need a Spotify holiday mix you won’t hear at the grocery store, try mine!
Thank you for reading! I’d love to hear what books you’re foisting right now.
Kelly