The She~Me~Her Connection

Let's Be Frank:

Or Jimmy, Sal, Walter -- You pick, but I'll actually go with JoAnn here!

I'm JoAnn—a woman from a small town with big thoughts. Married 30 something amount of years and I have three absolutely amazing kids! My babies! All adults now (sigh)! Living in suburbia along with a house of lil rescue pups who well, have my heart "almost" as much as my kids do. Truly unconditional. I love that kind of love! For those that don't know me, stay tuned for more bio in the book somewhere. For those that do, please feel free to fill in the blanks of what this feeble old mind may have forgotten.

I have always enjoyed writing and creating since a very early age, but never pursued it for fear of not being good enough or being mocked.

I am here now!

I decided it was time to gather all my post-its, go through all my texts to myself, find the old notebooks, and compile them all together, with the aim of making sense of it all. Lord knows, putting sense to something had become quite foreign to me. But how should I go about it?

Then...

I found Elle.

For character portrayal, Elle, pronounced El-la, is a woman who sifts through the past few decades of her life, allowing herself to truthfully face the highs and lows, the ups and downs, the good, the bad, and even the ugly times. Through her own self-expression and crisp, bold statements, she is able to see a light at the end of the tunnel. A rebirth of sorts. Ella opens the door, inviting us in to follow her journey with both hope, yet realistic views. Does she have all the answers? Absolutely not! Does anyone? All we can do is attempt and aspire to be our best, no matter what hurdles we will need to jump through or fall over to get there. Beginning each day with the hopes of feeling renewed we are the only ones that can take charge of ourselves, anxiously awaiting to see what lies ahead.

Elle says it best,

"I've lived a lot. I've seen a lot. I've accepted a lot. I've loved a lot. I've borderline hated a lot. I've derailed a lot. I've reclaimed a lot. I've lost a lot. I've gained a lot. I've expected a lot. I've collapsed a lot. I've gotten back up a lot. I've been used a lot. I've used a lot. I've expressed a lot. I've been ignored a lot. I've buried a lot. I've shared a lot. I've been disrespected a lot. I've saved face a lot. I've cared a lot. I gave up a lot. I stopped caring a lot. I've been numb a lot. I've hugged a lot. I've "been there" a lot. I've retreated a lot. I've done a lot. I've taken a lot. I've gotten shit a lot. I've given shit a lot. I've witnessed a lot. I survived a lot. I've laughed a lot. I cried a lot. Hell, I've ordered from Amazon a lot."

"I've taken notes A-LOT"!

This fictionalized memoir has a colloquial charm with superlative laughs, as well as some very uncomfortable, even unnerving moments. It's stuffed with words some folks might call typos or mispronunciations. A story more out of order than a defensive attorney constantly objecting in a courtroom. It's raw. It's unapologetic. fact-based with fictional exaggerations, sarcasm, awareness, and surprises.

Colloquial… now that’s a ten-dollar word, huh? Makes me sound super brainy. Oh, the irony! Say it with me: col·lo·qui·al. Next time you’re sittin’ in a Jersey diner, chewin’ the fat, and talkin’ louder than the jukebox, drop it in. You’ll feel whip smart, like you out-talked the whole booth. 

More to come on superlative...