Ingrid Ricks's Blog

It has been an amazing couple of weeks—starting with a letter notifying me that I’d been awarded a 4Culture grant to support my next book project, Determined to See. This was followed by the launch of our new teen story collection, You’ve Got It All Wrong, and then discovering that Hippie Boy made #20 on the June 16th New York Times bestseller list!

I’m so grateful and excited about all of it—but it’s been difficult to process because it seems that with each milestone reached on this journey, the steeper and more intense it becomes. I’ve been going nonstop since last week and have ignored my most important life rule: to embrace the Now.

So I’m taking some time today to just breathe, enjoy the moment and most of all, express my thanks to all of you. Navigating today’s new publishing world can be overwhelming at times because there is no trail or roadmap to follow. All any of us can do is set our compass, head off in that direction and find our way through—and we wouldn’t make it without the support from readers and friends.

I don’t know where this journey will lead, but it’s an adventure and I’m just going to keep on pressing forward. Because as my dad always says, “As long as you keep on going, you never know what you can accomplish. As soon as you quit, you have your answer.”


P.S. Yesterday a friend forwarded a story to me about NPR’s Snap Judgment host Glenn Washington in the new issue of The Atlantic. The story mentions a segment I did for the show excerpted from Hippie Boy. Here's the link to the piece: http://snapjudgment.org/road-again

I really love the way the clip turned out.

When I was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa eight years ago, I chose the path that I felt would keep me safe: denial and hiding.

I was scared that people would discriminate against me if they knew I was losing my eyesight. And I was petrified of showing the world that I was vulnerable. But after six years of living in the closet, I finally realized that talking openly about my degenerative eye disease was empowering and educational. I realized that if I was okay with who I was, other people would be too. And if not, so what?

FOCUS, which just launched as a eBook on Amazon and KOBO (BN.com coming in the next few days – paperback late-November), is about my journey with RP. It’s about my shock of walking into the eye doctor’s office for the first time in my life at age 37 expecting to walk out with a cute pair of red cat-eye frames–-only to learn I suffered from an incurable degenerative eye disease and was already legally blind.

FOCUS delves into my crippling fear of not being able to see my two young daughters grow up, of becoming a burden to my husband, of losing the career I love, and of being robbed of the independence that defines me.

Ultimately, FOCUS is about my quest to fix my eyes that ended up fixing my life.Through an eight-year journey marked by a trip to South Africa to write about AIDS orphans, a four-day visit with a doctor who focuses on whole-body health, a relationship-changing confrontation with my husband and a life-changing lesson from my daughters, I learned to embrace the moment and see what counts in life-–something no amount of vision loss can take from me.

More than anything, my fading eyesight has taught me that I’m not alone. Though you may not know it by looking at them, so many people are facing serious issues in their lives. What I’ve learned is that none of us are immune to disease and death, that life can change in an instant, and that all we have for sure is NOW. So we better make NOW count.

If you are wondering what can happen when teens find their voice and claim their power, watch this story clip with student authors from Scriber Lake High School, an alternative high school in Edmonds, Washington. Then read their new book: We Are Absolutely Not Okay: Fourteen Stories by Teenagers Who Are Picking Up the Pieces — available as both an eBook and paperback on Amazon. All proceeds go to fund future writing/publishing programs at Scriber Lake High School.

(to see clip, visit http://www.king5.com/new-day-northwes...)

It’s hard for me to put into words how inspired I am by these students. They have dealt with the kind of heartache and tragedy that most of us can’t even fathom. They’ve experienced gang life and drug addiction, and had lost loved ones to prison. They’ve battled depression and self harm. Some have been abused and neglected by those who were supposed to protect them.

But rather than being angry and hardened, they have reclaimed their power by finding their voice, writing their stories and sharing them with the world. Now they are committed to using their personal experiences to help other teens know that they are not alone and that they have the power within themselves to make life better.

The book, which launched officially at a huge student book signing event on June 6th, is already connecting with teens and making a difference in their lives. And I know this is only the beginning of the amazing journey for these student authors. I am honored to have been involved with this amazing project.

Sometimes this whole process of going after dreams is TOUGH. And there are days when it can get downright discouraging. I'm having one of those days so I went in search of some inspiration and found this amazing quote by Alan Cohen.

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power." -- Alan Cohen.

I needed these words today and wanted to share them here in case anyone else can use them. Happy Friday!

I’ve been looking forward to today for a couple of months now. It’s the day that Booklist Magazine, the official review publication of the American Library Association, is featuring a review of my memoir, Hippie Boy: A Girl’s Story.

The magazine reaches 20,000 public and school librarians across the country. OK…I definitely want to sell books. But I also feel strongly about getting Hippie Boy into the hands of teenagers across the country.

I had the incredible opportunity recently to use Hippie Boy as a guide to help at-risk teens claim their power by finding their voice and telling their stories. The challenges I faced during my coming-of-age years don’t hold a candle to the heartache and tragedy experienced by these students. But they could identify with so much in Hippie Boy that it helped them to share their stories, and in the process, realize they have the power to claim the life they want for themselves.

So my intention for Hippie Boy, today and in the weeks to come, is for librarians everywhere to understand its power in connecting with teens and realize that they need to carry at least three copies each in their libraries.

And it’s my intention for today’s Booklist Magazine review to get the ball rolling.

When I mapped out my dream path for my new memoir, Hippie Boy: A Girl’s Story, I knew I wanted to start sharing my story with at-risk women and teens. I envisioned using my story as a tool to encourage them to face down their challenges by finding their voice and claiming their inner power.

I wasn’t sure what form it would take. I just knew that this was the overall message of Hippie Boy, and a message I am passionate about getting out into the universe.

Then, in early December, I was contacted by Marjie Bowker, an English teacher at an alternative high school in a suburb outside of Seattle. She told me our mutual friend, Pam Perry (thank you, PAM!!!), had given her my book to read. Her next words were an early Christmas gift to me.

“Hippie Boy is the book I’ve always wanted for my students,” she said. “Do you want to form an author partnership?”

Neither of us understood what an author partnership even meant. But we both knew we wanted to figure it out. So on a whim, we started brainstorming and Marjie was soon crafting a still-evolving curriculum that focuses on using Hippie Boy as a guide to help her students share their own stories in a narrative format.

Our month-long curriculum kicked off January 4th. And magic has been happening ever since.

These juniors and seniors, more than fifty in all, have experienced the kind of heart ache and tragedy that most of us can’t even fathom. They’ve experienced gang life and drug overdoses, and have lost loved ones to prison, suicide and cancer. Some have been shuffled from house to house without ever having a safe place to call home. Some have been battered and abused and neglected. A few have resorted to stealing food because they didn’t have enough to eat.

These students have every right to be angry and hardened. Instead, they are some of the most compassionate people I’ve ever met. And they are STRONG. I felt a connection with them the first day I met them. They are me when I was their age and thanks to the power of story, we share a common understanding. Using Hippie Boy and the writing exercises Marjie has crafted for them as their guide, they are now working on bringing their own stories to life and in the process, they are finding their voice and taking back their power.

On February 1st, we’ll be holding a reading so they can share the life scenes they are now working on in class. From there, I hope they shout their stories to the world. And I’ll do everything in my power to help them find an audience. Because these students have something to say and are ready to be heard.

Just wanted to thank everyone who participated in my book giveaway. Copies of Hippie Boy: A GIrl's Story will be mailed to winners on Wednesday, January 4th.

Thanks again for your interest. Wishing everyone an amazing 2012.

Best,
Ingrid

A few years ago, I was in a writing class with a woman who battled chronic depression. She was tired of pumping her body full of anti-depressants and decided there had to be a better way to combat those dark days. So she started a gratitude journal and began keeping a daily log of all the things she was grateful for in her life. She told our class that her gratitude journal had kept her medication-free for a year.

My friend, Pam, has a nightly ritual where she picks at least one thing she’s grateful for and says it out loud before going to sleep.

Both of these women have inspired me to be more conscious of all the incredible things I have to be grateful for in my life. I wanted to put a few of mine out into the universe.

Ten Things I’m Grateful for:

My Family: My husband, John, and daughters Sydney and Hannah, are three of the most amazing gifts I’ve been given. I’m also grateful for my parents (the flowers shown were recently sent by my mom just because) and siblings – and for the incredible friendship I’ve forged with my sister, Connie.

My Friends: I LOVE my friends. They are amazing. I can laugh with them, cry with them and count on them ALWAYS. And I’m grateful they feel the same about me.

My Health/Eyesight: I’ve been battling the degenerative eye disease Retinitis Pigmentosa for years, and I’m so grateful that I can still see – and that medical advances are being made every day toward a cure or viable treatment. I’m also grateful that I’m healthy all around.

My Warm, Leak-Free House: It’s been so cold and rainy in Seattle and I think about all of those people who don’t have a place to get warm and dry. I feel so fortunate to a house and heat.

Food: Not only do I have access to all the food I need, I can actually go to a grocery store and choose the food I’m in the mood for that day.

Work: My husband and I are both self-employed and I’m so grateful that we have clients who trust us with their projects, and that we are able to bring in enough money to cover our expenses while pursuing the work we love and maintaining a flexible schedule.

Soy Mochas at Aster: I know it’s a huge indulgence, but I love settling into an afternoon of writing with eight-ounce soy mocha at Aster Coffee Lounge – my favorite coffee shop. I also like heading there with my daughters and playing a game of Sorry while enjoying my mocha.

My Local Gym: I’m particularly grateful for the Elliptical machine, the women’s-only weight room and the steam room (my favorite part).

My Community: I love my neighborhood. Everything I need (coffee shop, gym, grocery store, office, movie theater, indie video store, restaurants) is in walking distance – including the beach. My neighbors are great and can always be counted on for an impromptu glass of wine.

The Generosity of Others: I’ve been so amazed and humbled by the generosity of others. I’ve experienced it in spades lately – both the generosity of people who have posted reviews and shared their thoughts about my newly published book, and people who have reached out to me to share resources regarding my eye condition and ways to preserve my remaining eyesight. An example? Recently I posted a blog about wanting my eyesight. Out of the blue I received a call from a woman who works for the Foundation for Fighting Blindness. Her voice message made me cry. “You don’t know me,” she said, “But I had to call you and offer my support. I read your blog and if you are putting your intention out into the universe, then I’m answering your call. I want to help you and be the resource you need.”