Ask the Author: Elizabeth Baker
Answered Questions (7)
Elizabeth Baker
Summer reading? I haven't thought that far! At the moment I am looking for a good set of short stories. Hope to get by the library tomorrow. I like well-written short stories and since I hope to put out a collection of my own in November 2021, I am hoping to identify a few things about them that please me most then follow that pattern in my own work.
Elizabeth Baker
What inspired me? I lived through it and found practical, workable solutions rooted in my Christian faith.
I also spent many years sitting behind a counselor's desk listening as other women told similar stories. This book is not only full of practical advice, but it also contains 31 brief glimpses of some of these women.
I also spent many years sitting behind a counselor's desk listening as other women told similar stories. This book is not only full of practical advice, but it also contains 31 brief glimpses of some of these women.
Elizabeth Baker
The title of the book is very self-explanatory: When a Man Has Let You Down; A Guidebook for Rebuilding Your World.
The pitch is easy and true:
"This book is not about men. Oh, there will be plenty of information, statistics, examples, and ideas about managing that half of the human species, but it’s not about them. It’s about how we women deal with the emptiness left inside when the man in our life is less than we hoped. Perhaps he’s even less than justice says he should have been. This hollow is frequently carved by a husband, but similar wounds can be left by fathers, boyfriends, trusted male authorities, or even broken expectations when our reality fails to equal our dreams."
The pitch is easy and true:
"This book is not about men. Oh, there will be plenty of information, statistics, examples, and ideas about managing that half of the human species, but it’s not about them. It’s about how we women deal with the emptiness left inside when the man in our life is less than we hoped. Perhaps he’s even less than justice says he should have been. This hollow is frequently carved by a husband, but similar wounds can be left by fathers, boyfriends, trusted male authorities, or even broken expectations when our reality fails to equal our dreams."
Elizabeth Baker
Don't give up on your dreams, but at the same time don't assume they have only one way to be fulfilled. Dreams should not have rigid walls. Life is too rich to block yourself into a strict idea of what the future will hold. Perhaps you will earn a fortune as a famous novelist. Maybe not. Perhaps you will self-publish a memoir that is never shared beyond friends and relatives. Resist the urge to think of yourself as a "failure" if your exact future doesn't match your adolescent dream.
Elizabeth Baker
Readers! Humans are relational creatures. Connecting with other minds and hearts is a privilege and joy. Seeing your thoughts come to life through the eyes of another and feeling that special moment of "contact!" when both of you feel a true understand of each other; few things are better.
Elizabeth Baker
Without a doubt, I would go to Narnia. I love that place! However, all the worlds C.S. Lewis created are fascinating and any would do for a vacation. Every one of them is unique, yet each feels a bit like you have been there before. Even the outskirts of heaven created for The Great Divorce is a wonder of imaginative talent and filled with deeper meaning.
Elizabeth Baker
I think most writers deal with it much the same way. When you can't think of what to put on the paper, take a 10-minute walk, then sit back down at the keyboard and put something on the page even if you feel it may be wrong.
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