Category Archives: Family

A Year for Mom: The Big Day

The Purl Family “A Year for Mom” are posts written the year of my mother’s illness and her passing. It had started as one of Mom’s bright ideas. Though she and Pere had been unable to fly to California to see my sister Linda perform the remarkable one-woman show The Year of Magical Thinking, she imagined that, somehow, the show could come to her. Read more
Posted in Acting, Art and Entertainment, authors and entertainment world, Family, family history and genealogy, Family values, Heart, Integrating lifes purpose through art, involvement in issues near and dear to heart, life's purpose, Magical moments, Mara Purl, Mara Purl, mission and core purpose in life, Nurturing the soul, Personal Essays, Public Speaking, Transformation, Women authors | Leave a comment

A Year for Mom: Preparing for the Big Day

Mom in Captain Hero's arms“A Year for Mom” are posts written the year of my mother’s illness and her passing. Some of the most heartfelt and extraordinary communications I've sent or received took place during this challenging year. This post shares the experience of celebrating her 90th birthday. Read more
Posted in about issues of the heart, energy, Family, Family values, Gratitude, Head & Heart, Heart, joy, Mara Purl, mission and core purpose in life, Mother, Nurturing the soul | Leave a comment

Auntie-Mothering Heart to Heart

Mara Purl and LuciusThe first time I saw a picture of my darling nephew, he was making the thumbs-up sign in an ultrasound image. Close to the time of his delivery, my sister asked, “If he comes in the middle of the night, should I call you?” I answered, “Every other woman does!” This was literally true, since my husband’s an obstetrician. We laughed, and then dashed to the hospital at the appointed hour. Read more
Posted in Art and Entertainment, Family, family history and genealogy, Family values, Head & Heart, head and heart connection, Heart, heart of an artist, Live Your Best Life, Mara Purl, Milford-Haven Novels & Stories, Music, self-growth | 1 Comment

Step-Mothering is All Heart

Amelia-Mara-cropOne of my favorite roles in life is that of step-mother. Any more than one can plan or train for motherhood, one can’t schedule the unexpected eventually of becoming a step-parent. The job comes with its own prickly difficulties, but also with a series of gifts that continue to leave me, by turns, breathless and grateful. Read more
Posted in about issues of the heart, Art and Entertainment, Books for Baby Boomers, Domestic Violence, Family values, forgiveness, Head & Heart, head and heart connection, Heart, Heart and head connection in books, involvement in issues near and dear to heart, life's purpose, Live Your Best Life, Mara Purl, Milford-Haven Novels & Stories, Personal Essays, relationships, self-growth, sychronicity of life, transformation through AHA moments | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

God-Mothering from the Heart

Mara-Sami-graduation-crop Nothing could have been a greater honor than my friend's request that I be her baby's God-mother. We didn't know exactly what that might mean, as this special relationship would occur without religious affiliation. But since Erin and I refer to one another as spiritual sisters, it made perfect sense that I'd be involved in the spiritual life of her daughter. Read more
Posted in about issues of the heart, Books, Collaboration with other writers, E-Books, e-books by Mara Purl, Family values, Finding treasures of the heart in books, Head & Heart, life's purpose, Love of Books, Mara Purl, Milford-Haven Novels & Stories, Personal Essays, self-growth, Women authors, Women's Fiction | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Year for Mom: February Shock

Mom and Mara“A Year for Mom” are posts written the year of my mother’s illness and her passing. Some of the most heartfelt and extraordinary communications I've sent or received took place during this challenging year. This post shares the experience of Mara and her mother's Special Project. Read more
Posted in Family, Family values, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Gratitude, Head & Heart, head and heart connection, Heart, Mother | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A Year for Mom: January Foreshadows

Purl family Xmas photo 2012 Broadmoor“A Year for Mom” is a collection of posts written during 2013, the year of my mother’s final illness and of her passing. Some of the most heartfelt and extraordinary communications I’ve ever sent or received took place during this challenging year. I feel I learned so much that ultimately it was as much a year of gain as of loss. Many of my friends and readers have expressed a wish that I share my experiences. These personal moments are shared . . . from my heart.

My family all had a fabulous Whirl-Purl of a holiday season. I’m sure you’ve had years like this.… Read more

Posted in AHA Moments, Authenticity, Family, Family values, Gratitude, head and heart connection, Heart, Intuition, Live Your Best Life, Love, Mara Purl, Personal Essays, relationships, self-growth, Transformation, transformation through AHA moments | Tagged | 1 Comment

My Heart Goes Red for Women

Mara Purl gives Keynote Address at American Heart Association's annual Go Red for Women in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Posted in about issues of the heart, AHA - American Heart Association, AHA Moments, Art and Entertainment, community and transformation, Connecting through books, Days of Our Lives, Family values, Finding treasures of the heart in books, Head & Heart, head and heart connection, Heart, Heart and head connection in books, Integrating lifes purpose through art, involvement in issues near and dear to heart, Keynote Address, Mara Purl, Milford-Haven Novels & Stories, mission and core purpose in life, Non-Profit Organizations, Public Speaking | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Thanksgiving Fully Present

There are three things I love about Thanksgiving: the future, the past, and the present.

I think as a child I probably loved Thanksgiving because of the future—it meant Christmas was coming soon! It was also a holiday I anticipated with great joy because it meant we’d go visit Grandma Dorothy. She married my step-grandfather late in life—but just in time for my sister and me to adore her. The house she shared with “Daddy Bob” was a classic New England cottage in Waterbury, Connecticut. Cape-Cod-Blue with white trim, it stood erect despite the steep street that seemed to slice under it.… Read more

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Whose Mystery: Our Characters’ or Ours?

“Who done it?” Why do we get so caught up in solving mysteries? I have several readers—whose names I shall not divulge—who regularly e-mail me demanding to know who killed Chris, and whether she’s really dead, and when the crime will be solved! And I thought I was the only one who couldn’t sleep at night wondering about the characters of Milford-Haven!

My accomplished friend Margaret Coel  has equally marvelous stories about the obsessive nature of readers and how involved they become with her characters. At our event last weekend, she recounted some of the “helpful suggestions” she receives regarding her two protagonists, and how their life-dilemmas might be solved.… Read more

Posted in about issues of the heart, Art and Entertainment, Artists, Author Mara Purl on Blog Tour, authors and entertainment world, Authors and Publishers Services, Authors on Talk Shows, Baby Boomers, Bellekeep Books by Mara Purl, Blog tour of author Mara Purl, Blog Tours, Book Marketing, book marketing using websites enewsletters and blogs, Books for Baby Boomers, Business, careers, Collaboration with other writers, Community, Connecting through blogs, Connecting through books, Creativity, Current Event, Domestic Violence, E-Books, Editors, energy, Escapism through romance novels, family history and genealogy, Family values, Finding treasures of the heart in books, flow of life, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, forgiveness, Gifts, head and heart connection, head and heart connection, Heart, Heart and head connection in books, heart of an artist, history, ideas for books, Innovative marketing, inspiring through fiction novels, Integrating lifes purpose through art, Intuition, involvement in issues near and dear to heart, Lady Killers, life's purpose, Love, Love of Books, Mara Purl, Mara Purl, Mara Purl, Mara Purl Romance novels, Mara Purl using new marketing methods for Books, Marketing, Metaphors, Milford Haven, Milford-Haven Novels & Stories, mission and core purpose in life, Motivation and inspiration for Baby Boomer careers, musician-singer-songwriter, Mystery Writers, Mystery Writers, Novel series, Novels for Romance Junkies, Nurturing the soul, Of Baby Boomer Women, of lives through books, Personal Essays, physical and emotional process of creating art, plot and structure, Political history, Power of the universe, power of the universe, power of the universe, Power of Universe, Publishing, Re-Build your Life, relationships, Romance novel readers, Romance Novels by Mara Purl, Romance Novels by Mara Purl, Romance Novels for romance junkies, Romantic fiction, romantic novel storylines, Science, self-growth, Skill sets, Small Presses, Small Town Fiction, Soap Opera Fiction, sychronicity of life, synchronicity, synchronicity, Syncronicity between bloggers, Transformation, Uncategorized, Virtual Book Tours, What the Heart Knows, What the Heart Knows by Mara Purl, women and romance novels, Women and Romance Novels, Women authors, Women's Fiction, womens literature, Writing, writing romance novels | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment