Who Knew a Throw Away Comment at a Writing Conference Would Begin My Six Year Memoir Journey

Yesterday I returned from a 4-day solo writing retreat in Mount Lemon, Arizona, located in the Catalina Mountains near Tucson. It's been 6 years since I began writing my memoir, and an hour here and an hour there wasn't getting it done.

When I searched for a place to stay, The Writer's Retreat popped up. How could I not choose it?

Frankly, I wasn't sure I had the capacity to focus and work for long periods of time. The cabin didn’t have a television, so I brought a big stack of unread newspapers and a couple of books.

The hoodoos were a welcome sight as I drove up the Catalina Highway. I hoped for a little hoodoo magic during my stay.

I knew the weather was going to be nice (in the low 50s), and though I knew about the 22 steps going up to the cabin, the snow steps were a surprise. The climb reminded me I need to get in better shape!

I lugged my clothes, computer equipment, old journals, reading material, a cooler, and all my food up the stairs...stopping and resting many times in between loads. The 8,000-foot altitude didn't help.

All settled in for the evening and ready to tackle my six-year hot mess of a memoir the next day.

I took the photo below to capture my keyboard and my 5th Grade picture, the year my mother was hospitalized. When I saw the photo, I was annoyed I hadn't cleared the debris from around keyboard.

Coincidentally, the words you can read from the old journal entry say mother and relationship.

Note that you can’t see the word Shift, the letter A, or 13 other letters on my keyboard. Maybe I need a new one.

The red notebook stayed in the spot where I unpacked it the entire time, though I never opened it and only have a few notes written. I remember the notebook was from MilSpeak's 2018 Women Warriors Writing Program, which began the journey to write my memoir.

One of the sessions during that weekend was led by fellow Marine Tracy Crow who, when talking about chapters said, "You might name a chapter “Three Marines Walk into a Bar."

That's the name of a chapter in my memoir.

After being productive the first day, I took a break and drove to the Mount Lemon Cookie Cabin Pizzaria and Eatery.

The pizza looked delicious, but the cookies were calling my name. I couldn't decide which one to get because the cookies were huge, covering the entire plate…so I bought them all, the Sampler. Doesn't it look like a cookie blossom?

I took the photo below wanting to remember my set up without regard to what was on the screen. Looking at photo now, I was working on my bootcamp chapter. Behind my computer on the monitor, I had typed "is pine-sol a disinfectant," because that reminded me of the boot camp barracks.

I was making great progress on my last full day.

Then my mouse died.

I drove to the Summerhaven General Store to buy another battery and thank goodness they had one. Note to self: pack an extra.

Note to self: pack an extra.

The next morning it was time to pack up, check out, and head home. Here's the view of my work area from the loft when I was ready to leave.

After 6 years, I finally wrote, "The End."

Indeed, it was.

One last look, with gratitude, that my time spent at The Writer's Retreat was productive.

The weather was fabulous the entire time.

The wild turkeys I had seen when I arrived (but couldn't catch to take a photo of fast enough) were grazing on the side of the road on my departure.

I'm still processing the time spent in working solitude. Now, I'm in the process of polishing my manuscript…what a journey it’s been.

Coming back down the mountain, metaphorically and literally.