Tag Archives: mothers

The Coronation Cometh…

Posted on May 5, 2023 by Gabriella West

I managed to download the emblem of Charles III’s coronation, which turns out to have been designed by Jony Ive, once head of design at Apple and now Sir Jony Ive 🙂 The emblem itself is very pretty. CNN may … Continue reading →

Posted in News, Personal | Tagged cnn, Coronation, funerals, Jony Ive, King Charles III, mothers, royalty | Leave a comment

Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2016 by Gabriella West

Christmas is here, a time of year when I feel inexplicably content and happy much of the time. As I’ve gotten older Christmas has become less about “getting stuff” and feasting, and more about memories. Somehow it all adds up … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal | Tagged Christmas, garrison keillor, gifts, love, mothers | Leave a comment

The Downhill Slide: Two Literary Biographies

Posted on December 18, 2016 by Gabriella West

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin Manderley Forever: A Biography of Daphne du Maurier by Tatiana de Rosnay Literary biography can be such a depressing genre, although I read it, I realize, to feel vicariously alive, to really … Continue reading →

Posted in creativity and its discontents, LGBT, Reviews, Writing | Tagged 1950s, anxiety, barbiturates, bisexuality, Cornwall, Daphne du Maurier, daughters, dominance, Dublin, feminist, France, Gertrude Lawrence, ghosts, haunted lives, lesbian, life, literary biography, London, marriage, Menabilly, mothers, old age, Rebecca, Ruth Franklin, Shirley Jackson, Stanley Edgar Hyman, Tatiana de Rosnay, truth, Vermont, women's lives | 3 Comments

May Book Review: Pennance by Clare Ashton

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Gabriella West

‘Pennance’ by Clare Ashton, 2012, Createspace pbk (8.99)/Kindle ($2.99) When I first came across Clare Ashton’s debut novel on Kindle, I confess I frowned slightly at the title and thought that it was possibly a typo for “Penance.” It’s not, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged clare ashton, cornish village, indie authors, kindle book reviews, lesbian fiction, mothers, pennance, PTSD, Sarah Waters | 2 Comments

‘Found’ Is a Poignant, Powerful Take on Adoption Issues

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Gabriella West

Let me say first off that I am not an adoptee, so I don’t come to Found with the emotional hair triggers and sensitivities that someone in that situation might. But this new memoir by journalist Jennifer Lauck (Seal Press, … Continue reading →